GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $1.16 Million in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 42.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,438,000 after buying an additional 14,760 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 270.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 11,917 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 576.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 580,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,496,000 after purchasing an additional 494,457 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of H&R Block by 24.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 94,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,629,000 after purchasing an additional 18,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in H&R Block in the first quarter worth about $10,581,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kellie J. Logerwell sold 9,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $639,990.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,028 shares in the company, valued at $1,626,820. This represents a 28.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,056. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB stock opened at $59.13 on Friday. 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 $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 0.91 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.27.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $193.81 million during 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.05) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 16.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 36.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.