H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Bought by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 510.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,179 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,383 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the first quarter worth $1,317,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 7.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 18.0% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 52.2% during the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 735,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,400,000 after purchasing an additional 252,185 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 32.8% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 22,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 5,539 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total value of $3,405,096.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 844,790 shares in the company, valued at $53,458,311.20. This represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

H&R Block Stock Performance

H&R Block stock opened at $54.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.25. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $49.16 and a one year high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 15.20% and a negative return on equity of 179.57%. H&R Block’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

H&R Block 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.