Kentucky Retirement Systems Invests $2.42 Million in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 35,593 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,418,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth about $26,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Block from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. BNP Paribas lowered Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial upgraded Block from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Compass Point raised Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Block from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.42.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $500,946.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 521,352 shares in the company, valued at $32,302,969.92. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,724 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total value of $167,253.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 99,585 shares in the company, valued at $6,114,519. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 92,617 shares of company stock valued at $6,474,580 over the last quarter. 10.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $64.04 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.27 and a 52 week high of $95.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $69.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 2.65.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Block Profile

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.