Natixis Advisors LLC Has $1.64 Million Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 8.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,802 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in H&R Block during the third quarter worth $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 606.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring 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. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. This represents a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

H&R Block Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $59.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.28 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.89. The firm has a market cap of $8.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 212.45% and a net margin of 16.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.05) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of 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, StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

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.