Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Makes New Investment in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 30,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,928,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 606.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4,152.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of H&R Block 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at $56,332,168.83. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 8,000 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $515,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

H&R Block Stock Up 2.2 %

HRB stock opened at $59.57 on Tuesday. 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 52-week low of $42.28 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.67.

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

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.