Gladius Capital Management LP Sells 5,946 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Gladius Capital Management LP trimmed its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 72.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,316 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,946 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRB. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in H&R Block by 42.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,438,000 after buying an additional 14,760 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 192,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,467,000 after purchasing an additional 8,050 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 68,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the 1st quarter worth about $3,149,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,626,820. This trade represents a 28.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at $5,871,491.15. This represents a 46.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $60.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.43. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $42.28 and a one year high of $68.45.

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

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 36.59%.

H&R Block declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.