H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Acquired by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,572 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on HRB. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB stock opened at $60.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.23. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $45.87 and a one year high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.32%.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block, Inc engages in the provision of tax return preparation solutions, financial products and small business solutions. The company was founded by Henry W. Bloch and Richard A. Bloch on January 25, 1955, and is headquartered in Kansas City, MO.