H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,258,297 shares of the company’s stock after selling 479,893 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $143,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 11.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,081,000 after buying an additional 558,076 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in H&R Block by 30.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,614,000 after purchasing an additional 758,827 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in H&R Block by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,726,000 after purchasing an additional 23,792 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 606,250 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in H&R Block by 1,630.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 732,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB opened at $56.54 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.63. The company has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.28 and a 1-year high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.05) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. This represents a 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

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.