Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $56.85 Million Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in H&R Block, Inc. by 62.1%, owning approximately 1,035,402 shares worth $56.85 million after selling 1,699,787 shares during the 1st quarter.
• H&R Block reported earnings of $5.38 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a revenue increase of 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.69% and a payout ratio of 36.76%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 62.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,035,402 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,699,787 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.77% of H&R Block worth $56,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in H&R Block by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 36,006 shares of the company's stock worth $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 10,113 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 371,743 shares of the company's stock worth $19,643,000 after buying an additional 34,089 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 98,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,210,000 after buying an additional 25,215 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in H&R Block by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,253,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $753,143,000 after acquiring an additional 35,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in H&R Block by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 46,567 shares of the company's stock worth $2,461,000 after acquiring an additional 10,210 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HRB shares. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

H&R Block Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:HRB traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.79. 368,968 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,584. The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.24. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $56.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.79. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $49.16 and a one year high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 15.20% and a negative return on equity of 179.57%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. H&R Block's payout ratio is presently 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.