Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Buys 27,883 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. $HRB

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP increased its stake in H&R Block by 9.5% during the first quarter, owning 320,767 shares worth about $17.6 million.
• H&R Block recently reported $2.27 earnings per share, missing the analysts' consensus estimate of $2.81, while revenue grew 4.6% year-over-year to $1.11 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, up from $0.38, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 33.56%.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 320,767 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,883 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned approximately 0.24% of H&R Block worth $17,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HRB. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in H&R Block by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. Northcoast Research lowered H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barrington Research reduced 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, Wall Street Zen raised H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

H&R Block Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of HRB stock traded up $0.29 on Monday, reaching $50.44. 2,471,605 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,592,710. The stock has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.24. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $47.00 and a one year high of $66.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.66.

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 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%. The company's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This is an increase from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.56%.

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.