H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Bought by Vestcor Inc

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in H&R Block by 104.2% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 8,338 shares worth approximately $897,000.
• H&R Block reported $5.38 earnings per share for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.2%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375, representing an annualized yield of 2.8% and showing a dividend payout ratio of 36.76%.

Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 104.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,342 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,338 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in H&R Block were worth $897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $136,591,000 after buying an additional 695,581 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new position in H&R Block in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,429,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 523,353 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in H&R Block by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 914,884 shares of the company's stock worth $48,342,000 after purchasing an additional 429,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in H&R Block by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,574,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,199,000 after purchasing an additional 330,279 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on HRB. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on 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 lowered shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

H&R Block Stock Up 0.3%

H&R Block stock opened at $54.50 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.16 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $55.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.77.

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

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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