Arcus Capital Partners LLC Buys New Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in H&R Block by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,358 shares of the company's stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,909 shares of the company's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,170 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 844,790 shares in the company, valued at $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on HRB shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Northcoast Research downgraded H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRB traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.12. 846,533 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,403,425. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $56.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.24. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.16 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.57% and a net margin of 15.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.94 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. H&R Block's payout ratio is 36.76%.

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.