Sound Income Strategies LLC Buys 21,538 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB – Get Rating) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 231,648 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,538 shares during the period. H&R Block comprises about 1.1% of Sound Income Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $8,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 75,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,201,000 after buying an additional 22,187 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $260,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 342.2% in the 3rd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 70,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,053,000 after purchasing an additional 54,435 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Down 1.9 %

HRB stock traded down $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.38. 5,700,231 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,623,397. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $37.67 and its 200 day moving average is $40.16. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.65 and a twelve month high of $48.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.67.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported ($1.37) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.48) by $0.11. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 337.61% and a net margin of 14.57%. The business had revenue of $166.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.02) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 6th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on H&R Block in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on H&R Block from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th.

H&R Block Profile

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H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax preparation and other services. The firm offers assisted income tax return preparation and related services through a system of retail offices operated directly by the company or by franchisees. It also develops and markets DIY income tax preparation software online, as well as through third-party retail stores and direct mail, and provides DIY tax services, including federal and state income tax returns, access to tax tips, advice, and tax-related news, use of calculators for tax planning, and error checking and electronic filing.