Crestline Management LP Takes Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Crestline Management LP bought a new position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 26,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,422,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HRB. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in H&R Block by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 58,628 shares of the company's stock worth $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 12,390 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 5.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 282,633 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,725,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 620.0% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 29,225 shares of the company's stock worth $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 25,166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $3,405,096.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 844,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,458,311.20. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HRB shares. Northcoast Research downgraded H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com raised H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.61. 2,118,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,386,582. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.23 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.13.

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

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. H&R Block's payout ratio is 36.76%.

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.