D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 6,371 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 59.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,295 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,371 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in H&R Block were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HRB. Boston Partners raised its stake in H&R Block by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,500,552 shares of the company's stock worth $237,814,000 after buying an additional 1,660,319 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth $57,253,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in H&R Block by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,585,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,591,000 after purchasing an additional 695,581 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in H&R Block in the first quarter valued at $30,429,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in H&R Block by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,701,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,448,000 after purchasing an additional 523,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRB traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.89. 614,576 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,399,265. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $56.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.60. The company has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.24. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.16 and a 12 month high of $68.45.

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

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. H&R Block's payout ratio is 36.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HRB shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 844,790 shares in the company, valued at $53,458,311.20. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About H&R Block

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.