Cerity Partners LLC Sells 20,196 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 17.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,441 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,196 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of H&R Block worth $5,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 129.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in H&R Block by 1,552.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in H&R Block by 11.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Northcoast Research cut H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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 report on Thursday, May 8th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.44. 565,909 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,405,671. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.16 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The company has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $56.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.68.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.57% and a net margin of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.94 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. H&R Block's payout ratio is presently 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.