Royce & Associates LP Sells 13,300 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP has reduced its stake in H&R Block by 8.5%, now owning 142,756 shares valued at approximately $7.84 million.
• H&R Block reported earnings per share of $5.38, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 4.2% year-over-year to $2.28 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.69%.

Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,756 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,300 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.11% of H&R Block worth $7,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 111.9% during the 1st quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 11,757 shares of the company's stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 6,208 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in H&R Block during the 1st quarter worth about $650,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in H&R Block during the 1st quarter worth about $1,061,000. Kennondale Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 885.4% during the 1st quarter. Kennondale Capital Management LLC now owns 29,286 shares of the company's stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 26,314 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in H&R Block during the 1st quarter worth about $218,000. 90.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of HRB stock traded down $0.85 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 336,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,455. The company has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.12 and a 200-day moving average of $55.79. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.57% and a net margin of 15.20%. H&R Block's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About H&R Block

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.