74,478 Shares in Block, Inc. $XYZ Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 74,478 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,383,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,537,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Block during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at about $4,277,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Block by 6.0% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,365 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,290,000 after acquiring an additional 3,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harrell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $699,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total value of $221,531.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 123,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,564,357.20. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $70,441.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at $17,393,858.72. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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.

Block Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Block stock opened at $69.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $42.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 2.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.58. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.27 and a 1 year high of $94.25. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 12.99%.Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Block in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.