KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $14.72 Million Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 203,700 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,721,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth $3,730,489,000. Sands Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Block in the second quarter worth about $702,446,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at about $634,721,000. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $627,233,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $535,305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 1.8%

XYZ stock opened at $70.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. The company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total transaction of $221,531.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,564,357.20. This trade represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 54,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,395,943 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on XYZ shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. 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, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Block from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.94.

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.