Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 107,755 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. $HRB

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its H&R Block stake by 89%, selling 107,755 shares and retaining 13,372 shares valued at approximately $424,000. Institutional investors collectively own 90.14% of HRB.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with the stock carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $43.00. Recent ratings included Stephens at “equal weight,” Zacks Research downgrading the stock to “hold,” and Barrington Research maintaining “outperform.”
• H&R Block reported quarterly EPS of $6.02, exceeding estimates of $5.77, while revenue rose 5.3% year over year to $2.40 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equating to a 3.8% yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 89.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,372 shares of the company's stock after selling 107,755 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in H&R Block were worth $424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 85.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,191 shares of the company's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in H&R Block by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 848,532 shares of the company's stock worth $46,593,000 after purchasing an additional 112,127 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 100.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 711 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 119.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of H&R Block in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of H&R Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of H&R Block from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.00.

H&R Block Stock Down 6.1%

H&R Block stock opened at $44.28 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $38.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.52. The company has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.36. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.16 and a twelve month high of $55.95.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.77 by $0.25. H&R Block had a net margin of 18.90% and a negative return on equity of 211.62%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.89%.

H&R Block Company Profile

H&R Block NYSE: HRB is a leading provider of tax preparation services and software solutions, serving individual and small-business clients through a combination of retail offices, online platforms and mobile applications. The company offers assisted tax preparation at its network of retail offices, where clients work with trained tax professionals, as well as do-it-yourself (DIY) software and online filing services designed to guide users through the complexities of federal and state tax returns.

Founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W.

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