BNP Paribas Financial Markets Lowers Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 514,972 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200,251 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.38% of H&R Block worth $32,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $590,000. Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new stake in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at $995,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 113.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 8,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth $1,928,000. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 285,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,136,000 after purchasing an additional 69,414 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $59.29 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.28 and a 52 week high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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 declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 36.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on HRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

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.