Block (NYSE:XYZ) Posts Earnings Results

Block (NYSE:XYZ) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter.

Block Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of NYSE:XYZ traded up $2.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $54.54. The stock had a trading volume of 14,145,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,774,666. Block has a fifty-two week low of $44.27 and a fifty-two week high of $82.50. The stock has a market cap of $33.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on XYZ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Block from $87.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Block from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $517,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $76,350.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 98,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,405,637.08. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 16,797 shares of company stock valued at $940,298 over the last quarter. 10.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co acquired a new position in Block during the 4th quarter worth $229,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Block by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,299,033 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $344,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,735 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,454 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Block by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 45,462 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after buying an additional 20,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Block by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 96,709 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,295,000 after buying an additional 24,032 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.