National Pension Service Grows Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. $XYZ

National Pension Service grew its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 2.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 768,450 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,886 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Block were worth $55,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 5,334 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Block by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,332 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 4,739 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in Block by 5.6% during the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 6,101 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,983 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.52, for a total value of $135,875.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 518,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,516,040.12. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $70,441.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 271,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,393,858.72. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,796 shares of company stock worth $3,395,943 over the last 90 days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XYZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup raised Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Compass Point raised Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.09.

Block Price Performance

XYZ opened at $60.39 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.27. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.27 and a 12-month high of $93.75. The firm has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.67. 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 (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The company had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.