Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 72,259 Shares of Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Clearbridge Investments reduced its Block stake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 72,259 shares and leaving it with 1,477,895 shares worth about $96.2 million.
• Insider selling continued, with director Anthony Mathew Eisen selling 135,750 shares and insider Brian Grassadonia selling 8,166 shares; insiders have sold 193,680 shares over the last 90 days.
• Block reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.30 expected on revenue of $6.06 billion, and several analysts recently raised price targets, with consensus sentiment at a Moderate Buy.

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,477,895 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 72,259 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Block worth $96,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Block by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 179,271 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,956,000 after purchasing an additional 34,678 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,400,000. Inceptionr LLC boosted its stake in Block by 455.1% in the 3rd quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 19,480 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 15,971 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Block by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,626,485 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,887,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,709,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Block by 145.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 55,396 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 32,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, Director Anthony Mathew Eisen sold 135,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.81, for a total value of $10,426,957.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,032,990 shares in the company, valued at $156,153,961.90. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $555,369.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 601,002 shares in the company, valued at $40,874,146.02. This trade represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 193,680 shares of company stock worth $14,609,241. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $69.86 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $68.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $41.58 billion, a PE ratio of 54.58, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 2.56. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.21 and a 52-week high of $82.50.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $6.06 billion for the quarter. Block had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 7.02%. The business's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Block has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.860-0.860 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.850-3.850 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on XYZ. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.42.

About Block

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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