Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,598 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,313 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,253,276 shares of the company's stock worth $753,143,000 after buying an additional 35,945 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,219,462 shares of the company's stock worth $275,796,000 after buying an additional 282,633 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,701,896 shares of the company's stock worth $248,448,000 after buying an additional 523,353 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 58.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,735,189 shares of the company's stock worth $144,527,000 after buying an additional 476,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

NYSE:HRB traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.80. The stock had a trading volume of 891,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,276. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $48.23 and a one year high of $68.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. H&R Block's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.94 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. H&R Block's payout ratio is 36.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total value of $3,405,096.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 844,790 shares in the company, valued at $53,458,311.20. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HRB. 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 target price on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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.

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.