Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Takes $129.59 Million Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,793,112 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,588,000. Block accounts for 2.0% of Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab owned about 0.30% of Block as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter worth about $27,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of XYZ stock opened at $59.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.27 and a 52 week high of $82.50.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 6.66% and a net margin of 5.40%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $72.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Block from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Arete Research raised Block from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $517,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 503,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,189,200. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $70,441.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,393,858.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 20,352 shares of company stock worth $1,165,720 over the last 90 days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Block

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.