Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $16.95 Million Stock Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 308,659 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,552 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of H&R Block worth $16,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 35,945 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,701,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,448,000 after purchasing an additional 523,353 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,500,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,319 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,585,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,591,000 after purchasing an additional 695,581 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,345,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,922,000 after purchasing an additional 191,595 shares during the period. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at H&R Block

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

H&R Block Trading Down 1.1%

H&R Block stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.12. 846,533 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,403,425. The company 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. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.16 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.59.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 15.20% and a negative return on equity of 179.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.