Boston Trust Walden Corp Increases Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 52.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 735,757 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 252,185 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.55% of H&R Block worth $40,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in H&R Block by 1,552.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 129.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

H&R Block Price Performance

NYSE:HRB opened at $55.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.25. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $49.16 and a one year high of $68.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $58.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.62.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.57% and a net margin of 15.20%. H&R Block's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.94 EPS. On average, equities research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.76%.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

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 value of $3,405,096.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 844,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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