Northern Trust Corp Acquires 263,274 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. $HRB

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has increased its holdings in H&R Block by 11.2% in the first quarter, now owning over 2.6 million shares valued at approximately $143 million.
• H&R Block recently reported earnings of $2.27 per share, missing expectations, while revenue increased by 4.6% year-over-year, totaling $1.11 billion.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.42 per share, effective October 6th, raising its annual dividend yield to 3.2%.

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,608,496 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 263,274 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.95% of H&R Block worth $143,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 72.1% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 513 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 666 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 129.2% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HRB. Wall Street Zen raised H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Zacks Research downgraded H&R Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Northcoast Research downgraded H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barrington Research dropped their price objective on H&R Block from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on H&R Block from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.00.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.9%

HRB stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $50.79. 1,124,276 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,504,477. The firm's 50-day moving average is $54.36 and its 200-day moving average is $55.52. The company has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.00 and a 12 month high of $64.90.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 191.38% and a net margin of 16.11%.H&R Block's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.850-5.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is 37.58%.

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.