Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 323,552 shares of the company's stock after selling 141,382 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.24% of H&R Block worth $20,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in H&R Block by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,936,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,735,000 after purchasing an additional 255,354 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company's stock worth $148,492,000 after purchasing an additional 939,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,726,000 after purchasing an additional 23,792 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 39.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 1,630.9% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 777,264 shares of the company's stock worth $49,395,000 after buying an additional 732,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.7 %

HRB stock traded down $0.37 on Thursday, reaching $53.92. 958,208 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,201,127. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.57. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $42.28 and a one year high of $68.45. The company has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.66.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.05) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is 36.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

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.