Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Sells 10,500 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 33.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,500 shares during the quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in H&R Block by 186.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,969,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933,031 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of H&R Block in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,073,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in H&R Block by 110.5% in 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 buying an additional 1,453,504 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in H&R Block by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,044,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,139,000 after buying an additional 1,002,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in H&R Block by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,889,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,444,000 after buying an additional 961,159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

H&R Block Stock Performance

HRB stock opened at $46.84 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.26. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.70. H&R Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $52.90.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.58) by $0.31. The company had revenue of $179.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.45 million. H&R Block had a negative return on equity of 227.22% and a net margin of 16.98%. H&R Block’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.37) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.26%.

Insider Activity at H&R Block

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

H&R Block 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.