Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Buys New Holdings in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,670 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Price Performance

XYZ stock opened at $61.83 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.22. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.27 and a 52-week high of $99.26. The company has a market capitalization of $37.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 2.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total transaction of $78,508.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 253,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,988,290.12. This trade represents a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.69, for a total value of $97,856.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 282,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,697,441.56. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,160 shares of company stock worth $5,899,556. Company insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XYZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Block from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $79.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Block from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.36.

Block Profile

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.