H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 30.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 323,552 shares of the company's stock after selling 141,382 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of H&R Block worth $20,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in H&R Block by 606.1% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in H&R Block during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on 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 H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

H&R Block Price Performance

HRB traded down $0.35 on Thursday, reaching $59.01. 632,910 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,169,198. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $61.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.25. The stock has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.28 and a twelve month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.05) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

H&R Block declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. 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 the SEC website. In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,871,491.15. This 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 valued at $7,517,056. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.