Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $362,000 in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HRB. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in H&R Block by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 884,714 shares of the company's stock worth $46,748,000 after purchasing an additional 107,450 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 46,586 shares of the company's stock worth $2,462,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 838 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth $1,613,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, November 8th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

H&R Block stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.85. 1,119,577 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 909,321. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.69. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $55.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.73. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.28 and a twelve month high of $68.45.

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

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.