Amrita Ahuja Sells 1,101 Shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,393,858.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Amrita Ahuja also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 21st, Amrita Ahuja sold 9,959 shares of Block stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total value of $611,482.60.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of XYZ opened at $71.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.66. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $94.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.45.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.29. Block had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 12.99%.The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on XYZ shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, November 20th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Block from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Block by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,439 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Block by 23.1% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 853 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Block by 0.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,183 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners II LLC grew its position in Block by 3.6% during the third quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 5,334 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in Block by 59.7% in the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 495 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.