Block (NYSE:XYZ) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Insider Selling

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) hit a new 52-week low on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $47.60 and last traded at $47.60, with a volume of 137332 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.26.

Specifically, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,976 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $111,031.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 233,878 shares in the company, valued at $13,141,604.82. This represents a 0.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 1,263 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $70,967.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 181,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,221,185.76. The trade was a 0.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.48, for a total value of $27,240.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 81,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,467,305.52. The trade was a 0.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on XYZ. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Block from $115.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 21st. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Block in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.75.

Block Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $30.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.22.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11). Block had a return on equity of 5.80% and a net margin of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Block by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Block by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,864 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Block by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Block by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Block

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.