Block (NYSE:XYZ) Insider Sells $417,181.48 in Stock

Key Points

• Dhananjay Prasanna, an insider of Block, Inc., sold 5,659 shares of the company's stock for a total of $417,181.48 on August 21, resulting in a 1.92% decrease in their ownership.
• Block, Inc. reported $0.62 earnings per share in its last quarterly earnings, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.21, but its revenue of $6.05 billion fell short of the forecast of $6.32 billion.
• Institutional investors currently hold 70.44% of Block's stock, indicating significant confidence in the company from large investment firms.

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) insider Dhananjay Prasanna sold 5,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.72, for a total transaction of $417,181.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 289,492 shares in the company, valued at $21,341,350.24. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Dhananjay Prasanna also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 15th, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 3,600 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.19, for a total transaction of $274,284.00.
• On Friday, August 8th, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 400 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total transaction of $32,796.00.
• On Friday, August 1st, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 3,600 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.93, for a total transaction of $269,748.00.
• On Wednesday, July 23rd, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 800 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $64,000.00.
• On Thursday, July 17th, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 800 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $56,000.00.
• On Tuesday, July 15th, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 2,800 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.06, for a total transaction of $190,568.00.
• On Wednesday, July 2nd, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 800 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $56,000.00.
• On Tuesday, July 1st, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 2,800 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.74, for a total value of $189,672.00.
• On Monday, June 30th, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 2,400 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $161,376.00.
• On Monday, June 16th, Dhananjay Prasanna sold 2,800 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total value of $177,828.00.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of XYZ stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.16. The stock had a trading volume of 6,547,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,847,188. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 2.71. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $99.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $72.14 and its 200 day moving average is $64.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.32 billion. Block had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 12.32%.The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Block from $60.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Block from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. BNP Paribas raised Block from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $82.00 price target on Block and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, KGI Securities raised Block to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.97.

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.

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