H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Shares Acquired by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,862 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $1,931,000. Empirical Finance LLC acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $462,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at $818,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in H&R Block by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H&R Block Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $54.98 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.55 and a 200-day moving average of $55.80. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.25. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.11 and a 1-year high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $5.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. H&R Block’s payout ratio is 36.76%.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 53,810 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRB has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 increased 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. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note 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.