AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 120,181 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,250,059 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 120,181 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.64% of H&R Block worth $118,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in H&R Block by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HRB shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $3,405,096.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 844,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

H&R Block Price Performance

HRB opened at $60.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.17. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. Equities analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is presently 41.32%.

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.