Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 742 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 33.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 742 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $81,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of H&R Block by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,253,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $753,143,000 after purchasing an additional 35,945 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in H&R Block by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,219,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,796,000 after acquiring an additional 282,633 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,701,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,448,000 after purchasing an additional 523,353 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of H&R Block by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,500,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,585,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,591,000 after purchasing an additional 695,581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 844,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,458,311.20. This trade represents a 5.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $55.78 on Friday. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.16 and a 1 year high of $68.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.59 and its 200-day moving average is $55.72. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.25.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.26. The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.94 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HRB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of H&R Block from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

H&R Block Company Profile

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.