Block, Inc. $XYZ Shares Acquired by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 289,846 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 148,600 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Block were worth $20,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,730,489,000. Sands Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $702,446,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $634,721,000. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $627,233,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $535,305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,608 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total value of $221,531.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,564,357.20. This trade represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total transaction of $639,603.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 243,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,953,356. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,796 shares of company stock worth $3,395,943. Insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $56.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.67. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $88.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.65.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 12.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XYZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Compass Point raised Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.48.

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.