Round Hill Asset Management Cuts Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Round Hill Asset Management trimmed its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,775 shares during the period. H&R Block comprises 2.5% of Round Hill Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Round Hill Asset Management’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $3,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in H&R Block in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB opened at $58.30 on Friday. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.75. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.28 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The company has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.67.

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 the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.05) EPS. Analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HRB shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 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.