Boston Partners Increases Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Boston Partners raised its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 58.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,500,552 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,660,319 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 3.28% of H&R Block worth $237,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 1,341.1% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 181,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,586,000 after purchasing an additional 168,821 shares in the last quarter. Kennondale Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter worth $157,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 1,552.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of H&R Block in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

H&R Block Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HRB opened at $52.04 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The company has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.65. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.87 and a 12-month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.59) by ($0.14). H&R Block had a net margin of 14.71% and a negative return on equity of 179.15%. Sell-side analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.32%.

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.