Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires 46,736 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 114.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,532 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,736 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of H&R Block worth $5,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRB. Eastern Bank bought a new position in H&R Block during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 606.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Price Performance

HRB traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.32. The stock had a trading volume of 926,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645,096. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.28 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.22 and a 200 day moving average of $58.17. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.05) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. H&R Block's payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on HRB shares. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides assisted income tax return preparation and do-it-yourself (DIY) tax return preparation services and products to the general public primarily in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It offers assisted income tax return preparation and related services through a system of retail offices operated directly by the company or its franchisees.