H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 61.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,641 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,773 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in H&R Block by 11.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,081,000 after purchasing an additional 558,076 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,614,000 after purchasing an additional 758,827 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in H&R Block by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,492,000 after buying an additional 939,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in H&R Block by 1.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company's stock worth $134,726,000 after buying an additional 23,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 39.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company's stock worth $115,418,000 after buying an additional 606,250 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total transaction of $583,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,414,430.60. 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 accessible through this link. In related news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of H&R Block 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

H&R Block Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB traded up $0.74 on Monday, hitting $60.31. 869,957 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,156,911. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $62.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.20 and a 12 month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. H&R Block's payout ratio is 35.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HRB. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block 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.