New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 12,836 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 152,644 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,836 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of H&R Block worth $8,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in H&R Block by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,358 shares of the company's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in H&R Block by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,023 shares of the company's stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 39,903 shares of the company's stock worth $2,109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,080,000. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRB traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.08. 522,877 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,394,717. The stock has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.53. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.16 and a 52-week high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.94 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 844,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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