Block (NYSE:XYZ) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Insider Selling

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $47.60 and last traded at $47.60, with a volume of 137332 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.26.

Specifically, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,976 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $111,031.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 233,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,141,604.82. This trade represents a 0.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 1,263 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total transaction of $70,967.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 181,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,221,185.76. This trade represents a 0.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.48, for a total value of $27,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 81,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,467,305.52. The trade was a 0.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on XYZ. Barclays reduced their target price on Block from $112.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Block from $101.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $100.00 target price on Block in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Block from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.46.

Block Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.53.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11). Block had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 11.92%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.23 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Block by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Block by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Block by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Block by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Block by 92.3% during the 4th quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Company Profile

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.