Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Raises Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 62.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,124 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,586 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in H&R Block by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 5.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 24,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 1,628.4% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 11,627 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 8.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 25,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Up 2.5 %

HRB opened at $58.29 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.28 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The company has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.67.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.05) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. This represents a 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Finally, 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.

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.