H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Bought by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,382 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,414 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.21% of H&R Block worth $18,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRB. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in H&R Block by 606.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in H&R Block by 4,152.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective 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.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $59.62 on Wednesday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.28 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The stock has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). 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 analyst estimates of $188.78 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.05) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

H&R Block declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.