Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in H&R Block by 52.3%, acquiring 38,999 additional shares, bringing its total holding to 113,604 shares valued at $6.24 million.
• Analyst ratings for H&R Block have been mixed, with Goldman Sachs raising their price target from $49 to $54 while maintaining a "sell" rating, while Wall Street Zen upgraded it to a "buy" from "hold."
• H&R Block reported a quarterly EPS of $5.38, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $2.28 billion, up 4.2% year-over-year, and recently declared a quarterly dividend yielding 2.69%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 52.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,604 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 38,999 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.08% of H&R Block worth $6,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HRB. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 36,006 shares of the company's stock worth $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 10,113 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in H&R Block by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 371,743 shares of the company's stock worth $19,643,000 after purchasing an additional 34,089 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in H&R Block by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 98,592 shares of the company's stock worth $5,210,000 after purchasing an additional 25,215 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in H&R Block by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,253,276 shares of the company's stock worth $753,143,000 after purchasing an additional 35,945 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in H&R Block by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 46,567 shares of the company's stock worth $2,461,000 after purchasing an additional 10,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HRB shares. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. Northcoast Research cut shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.78. The company had a trading volume of 121,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,826. The firm has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.24. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.16 and a 12 month high of $68.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $56.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.79.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 15.20% and a negative return on equity of 179.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

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.