H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 54.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,549 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,699 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HRB. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 381,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,430,000 after buying an additional 50,946 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in H&R Block by 239.4% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 125,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,051,000 after acquiring an additional 88,246 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth $1,275,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth $2,503,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of H&R Block stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $61.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,413,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,300. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.20 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.86.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. H&R Block's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.32%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on HRB shares. StockNews.com lowered 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 shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.