Cidel Asset Management Inc. Makes New $311,000 Investment in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Cidel Asset Management Inc. invested approximately $311,000 in Block, Inc. by acquiring 4,572 shares in the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors modified their positions in Block, with notable purchases totaling over $265,000 by various funds during the same period.
• Research firms have increased their target prices for Block, with KeyCorp raising it from $60.00 to $100.00 and others confirming a general consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Cidel Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,572 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. S Bank Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $92,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth about $94,000. SilverOak Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Hartline Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,609 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total value of $264,178.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,212 shares in the company, valued at $9,311,918.40. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,966 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total transaction of $729,511.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 298,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,845,149.20. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 124,341 shares of company stock valued at $9,459,075 over the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on XYZ. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Block from $60.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Block from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Block in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Compass Point restated a "sell" rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.64.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:XYZ opened at $75.21 on Monday. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $99.26. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $45.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 2.71. The business's fifty day moving average price is $76.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.54.

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

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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