Entropy Technologies LP Sells 5,088 Shares of H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB)

Entropy Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,088 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in H&R Block were worth $869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in H&R Block by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,295,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,081,000 after purchasing an additional 558,076 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of H&R Block by 30.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,270,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,614,000 after buying an additional 758,827 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of H&R Block by 52.2% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,738,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,492,000 after buying an additional 939,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in H&R Block by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,726,000 after buying an additional 23,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in H&R Block by 39.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,131,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,418,000 after acquiring an additional 606,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.14% of the company’s stock.

H&R Block Stock Performance

Shares of H&R Block stock opened at $59.36 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.46. The company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.25. H&R Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.28 and a 12 month high of $68.45.

H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $193.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.78 million. H&R Block had a net margin of 16.19% and a negative return on equity of 212.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.05) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that H&R Block, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 16.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

H&R Block Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. H&R Block’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.59%.

Insider Transactions at H&R Block

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other H&R Block news, CFO Tony G. Bowen sold 79,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.17, for a total value of $5,165,309.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 90,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,871,491.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Jones II sold 9,722 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.07, for a total value of $613,166.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 893,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,332,168.83. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,927 shares of company stock worth $7,517,056. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HRB. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of H&R Block in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of H&R Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on H&R Block from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th.

About H&R Block

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.