Block, Inc. $XYZ Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 52.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,020 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 122,692 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Block were worth $7,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Block during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XYZ opened at $56.07 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.27 and a 52 week high of $82.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.04. The company has a market cap of $33.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 2.65. 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 (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.39. The company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on XYZ. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Block from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Raymond James Financial raised Block to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Block from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $517,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 503,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total value of $76,350.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 98,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,405,637.08. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 20,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,720 in the last three months. 10.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.