Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $49.40 Million Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 1,630.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 777,264 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 732,359 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.56% of H&R Block worth $49,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth about $439,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth about $2,805,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in H&R Block by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,103 shares of the company's stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 4,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other 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 value of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $583,310.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HRB shares. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.4 %

H&R Block stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $60.64. 1,134,117 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,166,279. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.20 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.95 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 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 net margin of 16.49% and a negative return on equity of 220.05%. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. On average, 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 initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is 34.32%.

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.