Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Lowers Holdings in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its Block stake by 49.4% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 46,878 shares valued at about $3.05 million.
• Block’s latest earnings were strong, with Q1 EPS of $0.85 versus expectations of $0.30 and revenue of $6.06 billion; the company also raised 2026 guidance.
• Analysts turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets and ratings, while Block shares recently traded near $74.86 and remain above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 49.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,878 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 45,692 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Block were worth $3,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Block by 3.2% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,439 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Block by 23.1% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 853 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 443 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Block by 0.8% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,183 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 3.6% in the third quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 5,334 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Block

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Block reported Q1 EPS of $0.85, well above estimates, while revenue came in at $6.06 billion and gross profit growth remained resilient across Cash App and Square. Block (XYZ) Q1 Earnings Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised 2026 guidance, with full-year EPS now expected at $3.85 and Q2 EPS guidance also above Wall Street expectations, reinforcing confidence in the company’s outlook. Block Lifts Guidance on Higher Payment Volumes, Boom in Lending
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts turned more upbeat after the report, including Citigroup, RBC, KBW, Needham, and BTIG, with multiple firms raising price targets and reiterating buy/outperform ratings. Analyst price target updates on Block
• Neutral Sentiment: Some investors may note that one analyst, Piper Sandler, kept an underweight rating even while raising its price target, indicating there is still some debate over how much upside remains. Piper Sandler price target update on Block

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Block from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Block from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Block from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 3,555 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.41, for a total value of $225,422.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 231,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,664,323.42. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 30,919 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $2,318,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 500,816 shares in the company, valued at $37,561,200. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,725 shares of company stock valued at $3,401,393. Insiders own 11.37% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $74.86 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $63.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.48, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.57. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.21 and a 12 month high of $82.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $6.06 billion for the quarter. Block had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 6.97%. The business's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. 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, equities analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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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