Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,253,276 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,945 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of H&R Block worth $753,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,219,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,796,000 after acquiring an additional 282,633 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in H&R Block by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,500,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,319 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in H&R Block by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,735,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,527,000 after purchasing an additional 476,892 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,684,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,022,000 after buying an additional 47,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,095,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,897,000 after buying an additional 113,216 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Trading Up 0.3 %

HRB stock opened at $54.12 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.87 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.86.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRB has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

H&R Block Profile

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.