Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Makes New Investment in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $567,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 2,756.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB opened at $60.10 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.27. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.20 and a 52 week high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. H&R Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company’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 value of $613,166.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.