Commerce Bank Buys 8,513 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Commerce Bank raised its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 18.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,079 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,513 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $3,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new position in H&R Block in the third quarter valued at $246,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,045,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 24,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

H&R Block Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of HRB stock opened at $58.29 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.29 and a 200 day moving average of $57.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.28 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.67.

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

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. 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 of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In related news, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,474 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,910.34. The trade was a 30.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.