Block, Inc. $XYZ Stock: Candriam S.C.A. Decreases Position

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 21.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,411 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,831 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Block were worth $1,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. NovaPoint Capital LLC increased its position in Block by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. NovaPoint Capital LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its holdings in Block by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 44,901 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 5,885 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Block by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 11,888 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock opened at $85.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 2.58. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $48.21 and a one year high of $89.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $78.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.45. Block had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 35,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.50, for a total transaction of $3,062,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,177,672 shares in the company, valued at $103,046,300. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,686 shares of company stock worth $19,981,767. 11.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on XYZ. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Block from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on Block from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.32.

Block Profile

Block, Inc. is a financial technology company that provides payment and commerce tools to businesses and financial services for consumers. Its products include Square, a platform offering payment processing, point-of-sale software and related business services, and Cash App, which provides person-to-person payments and other financial features. The company also owns Afterpay, a buy-now, pay-later service, and TIDAL, a music and entertainment platform. Block serves businesses and consumers in the United States and other markets, with product availability varying by country.