Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Raises Stake in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 75.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,457 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,488 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $1,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRB. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in H&R Block by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 2,803 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of H&R Block by 7.2% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in H&R Block during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in H&R Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $169,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in H&R Block by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 8,036 shares in the last quarter. 90.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HRB shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

H&R Block Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of HRB opened at $61.51 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.26. H&R Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.87 and a 1 year high of $68.45. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.39.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported ($1.73) EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H&R Block Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.