H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Stock Position Reduced by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 96.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,550 shares of the company's stock after selling 800,259 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 4,152.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the second 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, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in H&R Block by 42,333.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HRB shares. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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, StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock remained flat at $62.48 during trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 665,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,739. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.20 and a 1 year high of $68.45. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $61.63 and a 200 day moving average of $54.58. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block's payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.