7,600 Shares in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Acquired by AdvisorShares Investments LLC

AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 658 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 52.6% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 838 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HRB. Northcoast Research cut shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.59. 1,498,234 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,378,177. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.19. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.70 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. As a group, analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.32%.

Insider Activity

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.