Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. $HRB

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada has increased its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 0.9%, now owning approximately 1.24 million shares valued at $68.36 million.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their ratings on H&R Block, with Barrington Research lowering the price target from $70 to $62 while Zacks Research downgraded it from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• H&R Block declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, representing an increase from the previous dividend of $0.38, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%.

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,244,858 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,671 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.93% of H&R Block worth $68,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 72.1% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 513 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 42.9% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 666 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 21.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,356 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 129.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on H&R Block from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barrington Research reduced their price objective on H&R Block from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut H&R Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $55.00.

H&R Block Stock Performance

H&R Block stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.13. 1,837,926 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,307,979. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $53.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.26. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $47.00 and a one year high of $64.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.11% and a negative return on equity of 191.38%. The business's quarterly 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 earnings per share. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.850-5.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.58%.

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.