Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $2.65 Million Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lessened its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 15.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,200 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Monday, hitting $61.73. 975,979 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,160,010. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.20 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.77. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 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 business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. H&R Block's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is 34.32%.

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

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,414,430.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,871,491.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,430.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.