NewEdge Advisors LLC Purchases 17,818 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 156.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,220 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,818 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in H&R Block by 42.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,650 shares of the company's stock worth $2,438,000 after purchasing an additional 14,760 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 270.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,319 shares of the company's stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 11,917 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in H&R Block by 576.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company's stock worth $28,496,000 after purchasing an additional 494,457 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in H&R Block by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 94,270 shares of the company's stock worth $4,629,000 after purchasing an additional 18,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,581,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,871,491.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $583,310.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,414,430.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB remained flat at $62.48 during midday trading on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 665,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,739. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.63 and a 200 day moving average of $54.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.20 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

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

H&R Block announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th.

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.