Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,585,026 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 695,581 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 1.89% of H&R Block worth $136,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in H&R Block by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,280 shares of the company's stock worth $15,179,000 after acquiring an additional 57,311 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 658 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,215 shares of the company's stock worth $2,495,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,000. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&R Block Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE HRB traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $56.74. 1,182,247 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,713. H&R Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.23 and a twelve month high of $68.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of H&R Block from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In other H&R Block news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total value 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. This represents a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.