Strs Ohio Cuts Stock Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Strs Ohio lessened its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 248,022 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 66,296 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Block were worth $17,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XYZ. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Block during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of XYZ opened at $66.78 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.66. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.27 and a 12-month high of $94.25.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.29. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The company had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Block from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,608 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total transaction of $221,531.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 123,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,564,357.20. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Arnaud Weber sold 7,095 shares of the 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 $435,633.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 259,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,910,950.40. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,395,943. 10.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Block

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.