Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Purchases Shares of 15,106 Block, Inc. $XYZ

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 15,106 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,026,000.

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

Block Price Performance

NYSE XYZ opened at $64.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $38.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 2.65. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.27 and a 52-week high of $95.78. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.22.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 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 return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 12.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Compass Point raised Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Block from $96.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,417 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 $639,603.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 243,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,953,356. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 35,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $2,811,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 535,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,871,680. The trade was a 6.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 92,617 shares of company stock valued at $6,474,580 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

About Block

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.