H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Stock Holdings Decreased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,168,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 84,290 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.59% of H&R Block worth $778,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 28,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after buying an additional 3,313 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at about $489,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 109,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,784,000 after buying an additional 2,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 24,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HRB shares. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

H&R Block Stock Down 5.4%

H&R Block stock opened at $51.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.24. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.16 and a 52-week high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 15.20% and a negative return on equity of 179.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

H&R Block Profile

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.