QRG Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 100,869 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,290,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,383,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,055,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter worth $415,575,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $1,628,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP acquired a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at $13,937,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Trading Up 1.6%

XYZ stock opened at $65.96 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.27 and a 1-year high of $94.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.59 and its 200-day moving average is $71.54. The firm has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 2.66.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly 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. Block had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 12.99%.The business had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Block’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on XYZ shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $76,350.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 98,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,405,637.08. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $70,441.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,393,858.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 54,796 shares of company stock worth $3,395,943 in the last quarter. 10.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Block Company Profile

Block (NYSE:XYZ) is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block’s portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.