H&R Block, Inc. $HRB Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in H&R Block, Inc. by 11.7%, selling 5,928 shares and holding a total of 44,945 shares valued at approximately $2.468 million.
• H&R Block recently reported a quarterly earnings miss with earnings per share of $2.27, falling short of analysts' expectations by $0.54, and revenue of $1.11 billion, exceeding forecasts.
• H&R Block announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.42, representing an annualized payout of $1.68 with a yield of 3.3%, set to be paid on October 6th to investors of record as of September 4th.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,945 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,928 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 98.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 100,601 shares of the company's stock worth $5,667,000 after buying an additional 49,827 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 13.5% during the first quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 767,369 shares of the company's stock worth $42,136,000 after buying an additional 91,075 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 17.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 703,672 shares of the company's stock worth $38,639,000 after buying an additional 105,973 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the first quarter worth about $1,317,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 1.6% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 11,942 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB traded up $0.62 on Wednesday, hitting $50.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,911,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,956,971. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.00 and a 12-month high of $64.90. The company has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.27 and a 200-day moving average of $55.49.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.11% and a negative return on equity of 191.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. H&R Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.850-5.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of H&R Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.00.

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.