Empowered Funds LLC Buys 118,228 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 1,013.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 129,891 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 118,228 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.09% of H&R Block worth $8,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB opened at $60.08 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.36. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.28 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The company has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.05) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

H&R Block Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other H&R Block news, insider Dara S. Redler sold 9,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $583,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,414,430.60. This represents a 29.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

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.