Block (NYSE:XYZ) CAO Sells $231,544.56 in Stock

Key Points

• Block, Inc. CAO Ajmere Dale sold 3,158 shares for $231,544.56 at an average price of $73.32, reducing his position by 2.92% to 105,078 shares valued at approximately $7.7 million.
• The company's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $0.62 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.21, although revenue declined 1.6% year-over-year to $6.05 billion.
• Block's stock price has fluctuated between a 1-year low of $44.27 and a high of $99.26, with the current trading value around $79.16.

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) CAO Ajmere Dale sold 3,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $231,544.56. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 105,078 shares in the company, valued at $7,704,318.96. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ajmere Dale also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 25th, Ajmere Dale sold 750 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $60,000.00.
• On Wednesday, July 23rd, Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $40,000.00.
• On Wednesday, July 2nd, Ajmere Dale sold 366 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.26, for a total transaction of $25,349.16.

Block Stock Performance

XYZ stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $79.16. 6,547,401 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,847,188. The firm has a market cap of $48.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.56, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 2.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $72.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.52. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.27 and a 1-year high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.32 billion. Block had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Block from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price target (up previously from $79.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Block from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.97.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth $311,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at $290,000. Conway Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at $290,000. Otter Creek Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth $4,404,000. Finally, Hartline Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth $265,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

About Block

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.

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