Redwood Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB - Free Report) by 34.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,452 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,102 shares during the quarter. H&R Block accounts for 0.5% of Redwood Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Redwood Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of H&R Block worth $5,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 5.5% during the fourth 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 position in shares of H&R Block by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,358 shares of the company's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 64.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 658 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position 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 buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

H&R Block Price Performance

HRB stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.94. The company had a trading volume of 258,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,025. The company has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.23 and a 1-year high of $68.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.01.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 179.15% and a net margin of 14.71%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.94 EPS. H&R Block's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. H&R Block's payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 844,790 shares in the company, valued at $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.