Block (NYSE:XYZ) Receives "Market Perform" Rating from BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets restated their market perform rating on shares of Block (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a $58.00 target price on the technology company's stock, down from their previous target price of $80.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on XYZ. StockNews.com began coverage on Block in a report on Saturday, February 15th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Block from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Block from $85.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Block from $101.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.15.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $46.65. 18,615,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,113,674. Block has a one year low of $44.27 and a one year high of $99.26. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $56.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market cap of $28.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.83.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. Block had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 5.80%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.48, for a total value of $27,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 81,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,467,305.52. This represents a 0.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 1,263 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $70,967.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 181,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,221,185.76. This trade represents a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,324 shares of company stock worth $1,297,662. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Block by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,864 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,283,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Block by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Block by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.