Prospera Financial Services Inc Takes $970,000 Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Prospera Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,284 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $970,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $267,000. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter worth approximately $516,000. Garrison Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,045,000. Metis Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter worth approximately $558,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter worth approximately $14,901,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of XYZ opened at $65.61 on Thursday. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $75.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $39.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 2.73.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 12.99%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XYZ. Citigroup upgraded shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Block from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.58.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.69, for a total transaction of $97,856.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 282,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,697,441.56. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 1,050 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total transaction of $78,508.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 253,956 shares in the company, valued at $18,988,290.12. This trade represents a 0.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 119,041 shares of company stock valued at $9,052,531. 10.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Block

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.