Jeffrey J. Jones II Sells 44,975 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Stock

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total value of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at $38,860,656.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB stock opened at $55.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.71. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.66 and a 52-week high of $55.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.68.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $4.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.28. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 224.81% and a net margin of 17.87%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is 29.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H&R Block

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter valued at about $238,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 82,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,533,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of H&R Block by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 22,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,000 after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 21.5% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 15,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of H&R Block from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th.

About H&R Block

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.