3,657 Shares in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) Purchased by Gladius Capital Management LP

Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in H&R Block by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 1,200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of H&R Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 85,921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.21, for a total value of $4,228,172.41. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 755,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,171,216.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB stock traded up $4.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.53. 3,575,011 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,711. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.69. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $54.21.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $4.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.28. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.98% and a negative return on equity of 227.22%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.20 earnings per share. H&R Block’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on H&R Block from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

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.