Spirepoint Private Client LLC Acquires Shares of 52,531 Block, Inc. $XYZ

Spirepoint Private Client LLC acquired a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 52,531 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,796,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in XYZ. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,055,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at $415,575,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth $1,628,000. Korea Investment CORP acquired a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at $13,937,000. Finally, Shelton Capital Management bought a new position in Block in the second quarter valued at about $1,562,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised shares of Block from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.12.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,959 shares of Block 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 $611,482.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 272,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,760,051. This trade represents a 3.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total value of $167,253.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 99,585 shares in the company, valued at $6,114,519. The trade was a 2.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 84,243 shares of company stock valued at $5,844,695 over the last three months. Insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of Block stock opened at $68.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 2.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.41. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.27 and a 1 year high of $94.25.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 12.99%.Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

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.