Block (NYSE:XYZ) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $89.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $100.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Block from $98.00 to $97.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Block from $109.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.31.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock opened at $65.29 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $40.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.53. Block has a 52-week low of $55.00 and a 52-week high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

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

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 3,253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $221,236.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 548,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,310,081.97. This represents a 0.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $446,180.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 235,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,585,253.28. This trade represents a 2.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,832 shares of company stock valued at $1,921,288 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SouthState Corp raised its stake in shares of Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Block by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Block by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 64.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Block by 18.3% during the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Company Profile

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.