H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lessened its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,846 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,396 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HRB. Assetmark Inc. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at $628,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth $315,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 42,333.3% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Whale Capital LLP raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 636.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP now owns 405,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,590,000 after buying an additional 350,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HRB traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.64. 1,004,777 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,167,693. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock's 50-day moving average is $60.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.12. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.20 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This is a positive change from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. H&R Block's payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total transaction of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,626,820. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total transaction 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 $38,860,656.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,902 shares of company stock valued at $9,970,442 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HRB shares. StockNews.com cut 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 target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th.

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.