Pathstone Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,891 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB opened at $59.39 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.93. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.28 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.59%.

H&R Block announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HRB. StockNews.com lowered 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 issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total transaction of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.