Millennium Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Millennium Management LLC cut its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 54.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,151 shares of the company's stock after selling 159,364 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.10% of H&R Block worth $6,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 1,552.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HRB shares. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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.

H&R Block Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:HRB traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,614,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,381,437. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $58.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.78 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.94 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.64%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.76%.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $3,405,096.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 844,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.