Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Makes New Investment in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 33,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,769,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 5.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in H&R Block by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,358 shares of the company's stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in H&R Block by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 658 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in H&R Block by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,170 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 844,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,118,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,386,582. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $56.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.15. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.23 and a 1-year high of $68.45. 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 company has a market capitalization 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.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.94 earnings per share. Analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on HRB shares. StockNews.com raised H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Northcoast Research cut shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. 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. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th.

About H&R Block

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.