Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Cuts Stake in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 49.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,075 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 37,793 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $2,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of XYZ. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Block stock opened at $50.93 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.50. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.27 and a fifty-two week high of $82.50. The firm has a market cap of $30.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at $17,393,858.72. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,189,200. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,797 shares of company stock valued at $940,298 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XYZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Block from $87.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Compass Point raised Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Block from $96.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Block from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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.