Swiss National Bank Decreases Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in H&R Block, Inc. by 3.3%, owning around 265,500 shares worth approximately $14.58 million, after selling 9,000 shares.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their holdings in H&R Block, with Bogart Wealth LLC boosting its position by 42.9% and Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC by 3,142.9% in the first quarter.
• H&R Block recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, a positive change from its previous $0.38 dividend, with a 3.4% dividend yield.

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of H&R Block worth $14,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 42.9% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 666 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 129.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of H&R Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 3,142.9% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northcoast Research lowered shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barrington Research set a $62.00 target price on shares of H&R Block and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of H&R Block from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. 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.

H&R Block Stock Down 3.0%

HRB opened at $49.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.75. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.00 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.24.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($0.54). H&R Block had a net margin of 16.11% and a negative return on equity of 134.63%. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This is a positive change from H&R Block's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.76%.

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.

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