Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $2.22 Million Stock Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,721 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in H&R Block by 2,756.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the second quarter worth $85,000. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HRB shares. StockNews.com cut 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 set a $60.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total transaction of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,871,491.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $60.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.20 and a 12-month high of $68.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.10. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 220.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a positive change from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Profile

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.