Swedbank AB Invests $10.58 Million in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 215,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,581,000. Swedbank AB owned 0.15% of H&R Block at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HRB. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 11.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,081,000 after buying an additional 558,076 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,469,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,463,000 after buying an additional 79,759 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in H&R Block in the fourth quarter worth about $82,605,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,133,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,851,000 after purchasing an additional 126,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of H&R Block by 4.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 817,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,153,000 after purchasing an additional 35,333 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of HRB traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $56.79. 645,084 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 796,907. The company has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.01. H&R Block, Inc. has a one year low of $33.65 and a one year high of $58.63.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $4.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.66 by $0.28. H&R Block had a net margin of 17.87% and a negative return on equity of 224.81%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 44,975 shares of H&R Block stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total transaction of $2,453,386.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 712,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,860,656.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of H&R Block from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of H&R Block from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th.

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.