Wedmont Private Capital Sells 491 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Wedmont Private Capital lowered its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,116 shares of the company’s stock after selling 491 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in H&R Block by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in H&R Block by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,219,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,796,000 after purchasing an additional 282,633 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at $10,725,000. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in H&R Block by 620.0% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 29,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 25,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP bought a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at $4,203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Trading Down 2.2%

HRB stock opened at $54.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.25. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.11 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.55 and its 200 day moving average is $55.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.94 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Northcoast Research cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $3,405,096.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 844,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.