Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Lowers Holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,338 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,303 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,263 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in H&R Block by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,358 shares of the company's stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of H&R Block by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 6,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of H&R Block by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price 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. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $3,405,096.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 844,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. The trade was a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of HRB opened at $58.24 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.25. H&R Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.78 and a fifty-two week high of $68.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $58.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.82.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.76%.

H&R Block Company 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.

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