GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 12,484.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,804 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 82,146 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.06% of H&R Block worth $4,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in 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 worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in H&R Block by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $3,405,096.80. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,159,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,389,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $58.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.77. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.16 and a 52-week high of $68.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.25.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. The company 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 earned $4.94 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRB has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

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.