Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stock Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,020 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 122,692 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Block were worth $7,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at $2,689,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter worth about $227,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter worth about $1,322,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at about $1,539,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at about $500,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 5.6%

XYZ stock opened at $56.07 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 2.65. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $44.27 and a one year high of $82.50.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a return on equity of 6.66% and a net margin of 5.40%.The company had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $76,350.57. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $70,441.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,393,858.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,720. 10.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XYZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Block from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Block from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.91.

Block 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.