H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 177,709 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,714 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. owned about 0.13% of H&R Block worth $9,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 129.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at $85,000. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 844,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

H&R Block Stock Down 1.1%

HRB stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $56.12. The company had a trading volume of 846,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,400,960. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.24. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.16 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.58.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 for 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 was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.76%.

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.