158,592 Shares in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Acquired by Paradiem LLC

Paradiem LLC bought a new position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 158,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,671,000. H&R Block accounts for about 2.1% of Paradiem LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Paradiem LLC owned approximately 0.11% of H&R Block at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 518 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in H&R Block by 1,200.0% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 650 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the third quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on HRB shares. StockNews.com raised H&R Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on H&R Block from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 85,921 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.21, for a total transaction of $4,228,172.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 755,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,171,216.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

H&R Block Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE HRB traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,384,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,499. The company has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.70. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $52.90. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $47.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.44.

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

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. H&R Block's dividend payout ratio is 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.