Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 16,335 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 55.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,699 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,335 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in H&R Block were worth $2,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in H&R Block by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 518 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 1,200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 650 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 129.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 85,921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.21, for a total transaction of $4,228,172.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 755,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,171,216.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on H&R Block from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

H&R Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRB traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.93. 908,779 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,062,391. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.70. The company's 50-day moving average price is $47.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.35. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $52.90.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $179.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.45 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 227.22% and a net margin of 16.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.37) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. H&R Block's payout ratio is presently 35.26%.

H&R Block Profile

H&R Block, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides assisted income tax return preparation and do-it-yourself (DIY) tax return preparation services and products to the general public primarily in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It offers assisted income tax return preparation and related services through a system of retail offices operated directly by the company or its franchisees.