Insider Selling: H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) VP Sells 9,846 Shares of Stock

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $639,990.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,626,820. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB stock traded up $1.28 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.60. 2,067,278 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,141,692. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.70 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.16 and a 200-day moving average of $50.89.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.15. H&R Block had a net margin of 17.87% and a negative return on equity of 224.81%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. This is an increase from H&R Block’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. H&R Block’s payout ratio is currently 34.32%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H&R Block

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRB. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in H&R Block by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,405 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in H&R Block by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 45,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 16,335 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 19,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

H&R Block Company 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.