Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Cuts Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 36.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,299 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,938 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in H&R Block by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 838 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

H&R Block Stock Performance

H&R Block stock traded down $0.40 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.61. The company had a trading volume of 235,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,373,137. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $57.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.02. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.23 and a 52 week high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.94 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. H&R Block's payout ratio is currently 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.