H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Bought by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 29,301.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,752 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,627 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at $439,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $2,805,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 27.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

H&R Block Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of HRB traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.82. 1,676,270 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,168,842. The stock's 50-day moving average is $62.26 and its 200-day moving average is $55.31. 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 fifty-two week low of $39.20 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.32%.

H&R Block announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.