Block, Inc. $XYZ Position Cut by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,905 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,077 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Block were worth $16,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of XYZ. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $621,703,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Block by 528.2% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,309,296 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $199,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,782,523 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Block by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,194,419 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $234,886,000 after acquiring an additional 494,083 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Block by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,147,988 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $189,353,000 after acquiring an additional 39,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hyperion Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in Block by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,682,854 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $203,897,000 after acquiring an additional 172,848 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 4.0%

NYSE XYZ opened at $82.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.90. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.21 and a 12 month high of $89.39. The company has a market capitalization of $49.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 2.58.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 1.80% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, Director Anthony Eisen sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.00, for a total transaction of $8,900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,077,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,912,808. This represents a 8.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $673,618.66. Following the sale, the insider owned 513,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,362,314.02. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 343,686 shares of company stock valued at $28,384,547. Corporate insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XYZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Block from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. President Capital raised their price target on Block from $86.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.32.

About Block

Block, Inc. is a financial technology company that provides payment and commerce tools to businesses and financial services for consumers. Its products include Square, a platform offering payment processing, point-of-sale software and related business services, and Cash App, which provides person-to-person payments and other financial features. The company also owns Afterpay, a buy-now, pay-later service, and TIDAL, a music and entertainment platform. Block serves businesses and consumers in the United States and other markets, with product availability varying by country.