BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Purchases New Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 65,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,443,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,500,552 shares of the company's stock worth $237,814,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660,319 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth about $57,253,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in H&R Block during the 4th quarter worth about $25,552,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in H&R Block by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,735,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,527,000 after acquiring an additional 476,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,574,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,199,000 after purchasing an additional 330,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

H&R Block Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of H&R Block stock traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.78. 1,366,627 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,359,638. The company has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.87 and a 52 week high of $68.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.32%.

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.