Korea Investment CORP Purchases 36,500 Shares of Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in Block by 17.8%, buying 36,500 shares to hold 241,672 shares worth about $17.47 million at the end of the quarter.
• Block beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.65 versus a $0.26 consensus and reported $6.25 billion in revenue, up 3.6% year‑over‑year.
• Insiders sold roughly 20,352 shares (~$1.17 million) in the last three months, while institutional ownership is 70.44% and analysts give the stock a Moderate Buy rating with an average target of $82.79.

Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 17.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 241,672 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 36,500 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Block were worth $17,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter worth about $26,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE XYZ opened at $65.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.86 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.60. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.27 and a 1-year high of $82.50.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,101 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 271,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,393,858.72. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 3,555 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.41, for a total transaction of $225,422.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 231,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,664,323.42. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,352 shares of company stock worth $1,165,720. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XYZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Block from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Arete Research raised shares of Block from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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