Hilltop Holdings Inc. Purchases Shares of 6,177 H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in H&R Block by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC increased its position in H&R Block by 2.4% during the second quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in H&R Block by 1.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Axiom Advisory LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 18,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the 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 owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $57.34 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.28 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.17.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. The company had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.05) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRB has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report 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 company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

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.