Paradiem LLC Takes $7.67 Million Position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Paradiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 158,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,000. H&R Block makes up 2.1% of Paradiem LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Paradiem LLC owned about 0.11% of H&R Block as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in H&R Block by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,844,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,539,000 after acquiring an additional 118,329 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in H&R Block by 110.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,768,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,504 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,574,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,142,000 after buying an additional 14,268 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in H&R Block by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,133,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,851,000 after buying an additional 126,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 7.4% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 954,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,105,000 after acquiring an additional 65,478 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HRB. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on H&R Block from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.50. 1,384,554 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 810,499. The stock 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 one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $52.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.41.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.27) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.58) by $0.31. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 227.22% and a net margin of 16.98%. The company had revenue of $179.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.37) EPS. H&R Block’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 35.26%.

H&R Block Company 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.