QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 100,869 Block, Inc. $XYZ

QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 100,869 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,290,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $76,350.57. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 98,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,405,637.08. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $70,441.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 271,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,393,858.72. This represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,796 shares of company stock worth $3,395,943. 10.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $65.96 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $94.25. 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 50-day moving average of $64.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.54. The company has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 2.66.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on XYZ. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Citigroup upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on Block from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.82.

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.