Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 11,888 Shares of Block, Inc. $XYZ

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 144.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,098 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,888 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,383,000. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Block by 24.0% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 179,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,956,000 after purchasing an additional 34,678 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,400,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter worth approximately $2,055,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Block by 2,385.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 612,358 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,255,000 after purchasing an additional 587,719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on XYZ shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Block from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total value of $611,482.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 272,965 shares in the company, valued at $16,760,051. The trade was a 3.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total transaction of $221,531.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,198 shares in the company, valued at $7,564,357.20. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,796 shares of company stock worth $3,395,943. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Block Price Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $49.89 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.35 and a 200 day moving average of $69.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $85.55.

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.