Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ – Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 185,770 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,660,000.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter worth about $621,703,000. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,682,854 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $203,897,000 after purchasing an additional 172,848 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 528.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,309,296 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $199,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,523 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Block by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,147,988 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $189,353,000 after purchasing an additional 39,112 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Block by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,624,534 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $157,944,000 after purchasing an additional 25,067 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity at Block
In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,511 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total value of $783,991.73. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 423,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,889,486.66. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Eisen sold 6,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.48, for a total transaction of $488,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,482,672 shares in the company, valued at $120,808,114.56. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 232,686 shares of company stock valued at $18,360,227. Corporate insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts recently issued reports on XYZ shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Block from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Block from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.61.
View Our Latest Research Report on Block
Block Trading Down 1.7%
NYSE XYZ opened at $75.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.30, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.21 and a 52 week high of $86.92.
Block (NYSE:XYZ – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.45. Block had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Trending Headlines about Block
Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Block earned $1.13 per share, ahead of estimates, while net income increased to $565.6 million from $461.5 million a year earlier. Block Q3 earnings and revenues beat estimates
- Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year profit outlook after gross profit growth exceeded its guidance. Cash App contributed to quarterly growth, and faster U.S. payment-volume growth at Square suggests its sales efforts are gaining traction. Block raises full-year profit outlook as Cash App drives Q3 growth
- Neutral Sentiment: Block reached a preliminary settlement with the Department of Justice. A settlement could reduce legal uncertainty, but the available report does not detail its terms. Block lifts profit outlook and reaches preliminary DOJ settlement
- Negative Sentiment: One earnings reaction noted that losses climbed even as adjusted profit improved, a possible concern for investors weighing the stronger outlook against the quality and sustainability of earnings. Block’s adjusted profit jumps as losses climb
Block Profile
Block, Inc is a financial technology company that provides payments, commerce, and financial services through an ecosystem of business and consumer products. Formerly known as Square, the company was co-founded by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and changed its corporate name to Block in 2021.
Its Square ecosystem serves businesses with point-of-sale hardware, payment processing, invoicing, payroll, inventory management, customer engagement, online commerce, and other software tools. Block also offers lending and other financial services to eligible business customers through Square-related products.
For consumers, Block operates Cash App, a mobile financial services platform that supports services such as peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, a Cash App Card, direct deposit, investing, and bitcoin transactions, subject to product and geographic availability.
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