H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC decreased its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 390 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in H&R Block by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in H&R Block by 1,200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on H&R Block from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB opened at $46.68 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $52.90. The company has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.36.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.58) by $0.31. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 227.22% and a net margin of 16.98%. The business had revenue of $179.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.37) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 85,921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.21, for a total transaction of $4,228,172.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 755,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,171,216.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About H&R Block

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.