Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Invests $3.11 Million in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 42,987 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,107,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XYZ. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter worth about $26,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:XYZ opened at $62.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.27 and a 12-month high of $94.25.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 12.99%.The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XYZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Block from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Truist Financial set a $72.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho raised their price target on Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Block from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Block from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.09.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $76,350.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 98,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,405,637.08. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total transaction of $221,531.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,198 shares in the company, valued at $7,564,357.20. This represents a 2.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,395,943. Insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

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.