PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Buys New Shares in Block, Inc. $XYZ

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 552,182 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,190,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 268,169 shares in the company, valued at $20,112,675. This represents a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,769 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.25, for a total transaction of $106,582.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 500,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,170,970.75. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,725 shares of company stock worth $3,401,393. Company insiders own 11.37% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of XYZ stock opened at $71.90 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.84 and a 200-day moving average of $64.29. The company has a market cap of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $44.27 and a one year high of $82.50.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on XYZ. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Block to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Block from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Arete Research raised shares of Block from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Block from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.78.

Block Company 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.