Westpac Banking Corp Sells 43,935 Shares of Block, Inc. $XYZ

Westpac Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 92.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,529 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 43,935 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Block were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Block by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in Block by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 495 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Block by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 528 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 1,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.54, for a total value of $90,198.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 479,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,876,033.48. The trade was a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 268,169 shares in the company, valued at $20,112,675. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 181,680 shares of company stock valued at $13,774,881 in the last three months. 11.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XYZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Block to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Block from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Block in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.12.

Block Price Performance

XYZ stock opened at $70.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.56. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.21 and a 12 month high of $82.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.00 and a 200-day moving average of $64.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.55. Block had a return on equity of 7.02% and a net margin of 3.30%.The company had revenue of $6.06 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Block has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.860-0.860 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.850-3.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.