IFM Investors Pty Ltd Takes $7.56 Million Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 102,579 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,557,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Block in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $66.21 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.27 and a 52-week high of $94.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.20. The stock has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 2.65.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on XYZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Block from $96.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho upped their price target on Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Block from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Block from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 35,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $2,811,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 535,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,871,680. The trade was a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,608 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $7,564,357.20. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 92,617 shares of company stock valued at $6,474,580 in the last ninety days. 10.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Block 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.