4,758 Shares in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Invst LLC raised its holdings in H&R Block by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 18,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,689,000. CSS LLC IL increased its holdings in H&R Block by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 27,138 shares of the company's stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 14,690 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in H&R Block by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 822,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,454,000 after purchasing an additional 124,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in H&R Block by 280.9% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 20,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 14,819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Northcoast Research cut shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th.

H&R Block Stock Down 1.1%

HRB traded down $0.63 on Wednesday, reaching $58.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,080,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,423. The company has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.78 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.83.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.94 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. H&R Block's payout ratio is 36.76%.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total value of $3,405,096.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 844,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,458,311.20. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Company 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.