Amalgamated Bank Sells 11,801 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 11.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,661 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,801 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank owned 0.06% of H&R Block worth $4,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,641,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,166,104. The company has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.20 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $60.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is a boost from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

H&R Block declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 712,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 160,902 shares of company stock worth $9,970,442 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About H&R Block

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.