Czech National Bank Takes $10.09 Million Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Czech National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 139,581 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,088,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $379,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter worth $2,559,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at $8,376,000. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Block during the 3rd quarter worth $399,000. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP bought a new position in Block during the 3rd quarter worth $419,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,417 shares of the 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 $639,603.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 243,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,953,356. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Arnaud Weber sold 7,095 shares of the firm’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 $435,633.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 259,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,910,950.40. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 92,617 shares of company stock worth $6,474,580 over the last 90 days. 10.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:XYZ opened at $65.33 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $94.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.99 and a 200-day moving average of $71.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 2.65.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Block from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $94.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Compass Point raised shares of Block from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.42.

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.