H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Position Boosted by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank boosted its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,345 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 429 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $85,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded 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 stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 30.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB opened at $60.39 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $61.69 and its 200-day moving average is $57.58. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.28 and a twelve month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced 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). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. The business had revenue of $193.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.05) EPS. On average, analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

H&R Block declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.