ARK Investment Management LLC Has $193.21 Million Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• ARK Investment Management trimmed its stake in Block by 13.5% in Q3, selling 418,240 shares and now holding 2,673,415 shares worth about $193.21 million, making Block the firm's 24th-largest holding (≈1.2% of ARK's portfolio).
• Block beat expectations with $0.65 EPS vs. $0.26 estimated and reported $6.25 billion in revenue (up 3.6% YoY); analysts give a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $82.79 average target price.

ARK Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 13.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,673,415 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 418,240 shares during the quarter. Block accounts for 1.2% of ARK Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. ARK Investment Management LLC owned 0.44% of Block worth $193,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Block during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the second quarter worth $26,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE:XYZ opened at $65.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.92. The firm has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 2.65. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.27 and a 12-month high of $82.50.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a return on equity of 6.66% and a net margin of 5.40%.The business had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $70,441.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,393,858.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $517,450.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 503,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 16,797 shares of company stock worth $940,298 in the last three months. Company insiders own 10.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Block from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Block from $96.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.79.

Block 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.

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