Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Acquires 12,904 Shares of Block, Inc. $XYZ

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,778 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,904 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Block were worth $12,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Block during the third quarter valued at about $519,000. Avestar Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $283,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 11,209 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Block by 252.0% during the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 22,978 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after buying an additional 16,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,508,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $76,350.57. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 98,412 shares in the company, valued at $6,405,637.08. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the company’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 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,448 shares of company stock valued at $422,848. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on XYZ shares. Truist Financial set a $72.00 target price on Block in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Block from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Block Price Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $50.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.18. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $44.27 and a one year high of $82.50. The stock has a market cap of $30.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 2.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.65.

About Block

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.