Block (NYSE:XYZ) Insider Chrysty Esperanza Sells 331 Shares

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 331 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total transaction of $21,177.38. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 122,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,861,030.66. The trade was a 0.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Chrysty Esperanza also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 21st, Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,608 shares of Block stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total transaction of $221,531.20.

Block Stock Performance

XYZ opened at $69.94 on Wednesday. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $94.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.45.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on XYZ. Zacks Research lowered Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.12.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of XYZ. S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in Block in the second quarter valued at about $92,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at about $508,000. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,105,000. SilverOak Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.