Block, Inc. $XYZ Position Lowered by Prana Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Prana Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Block (NYSE:XYZ) by 89.1% in Q3, selling 136,947 shares and leaving 16,682 shares valued at $1.206 million.
• Block beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.65 vs. $0.26) and reported $6.25 billion in revenue (up 3.6% YoY); analysts hold a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $82.79.
• Institutional activity includes Massachusetts Financial Services taking a new ~$111.1 million stake, while insiders sold 20,352 shares over the last 90 days and now own 10.49% of the company.

Prana Capital Management LP reduced its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 89.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,682 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 136,947 shares during the quarter. Prana Capital Management LP's holdings in Block were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $343,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Block during the second quarter valued at $269,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Block during the second quarter valued at $1,531,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth $111,109,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $224,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Down 0.1%

XYZ stock opened at $59.80 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $60.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.94. The company has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 2.64. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.27 and a 52 week high of $82.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $76,350.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 98,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,405,637.08. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $517,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at $25,189,200. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,352 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,720. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point raised shares of Block from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised Block to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Block from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.79.

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.

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