Block, Inc. $XYZ Stake Boosted by Cibc World Market Inc.

Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 179,271 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 34,678 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $12,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Block Stock Performance

XYZ opened at $49.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $63.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 2.67. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.27 and a 12-month high of $85.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XYZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $94.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Block from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 822 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 $52,591.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 242,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,529,097.64. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $76,350.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 54,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,395,943 in the last 90 days. 10.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.