H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Position Increased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 26.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,600 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,500 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.09% of H&R Block worth $6,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners increased its position in H&R Block by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,614,000 after acquiring an additional 758,827 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 11.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,081,000 after purchasing an additional 558,076 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,496,000 after purchasing an additional 494,457 shares in the last quarter. Prevatt Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth about $17,413,000. Finally, Blue Whale Capital LLP lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 636.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP now owns 405,000 shares of the company's stock worth $19,590,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Price Performance

H&R Block stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $63.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,118,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,167,544. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.20 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The company has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $60.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.79.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change 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 2.38%. H&R Block's payout ratio is 34.32%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 712,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,430.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,902 shares of company stock valued at $9,970,442 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.