Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $10.25 Million Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services cut its stake in Block by 90.6% in Q4, selling 1,509,611 shares and now holding 157,480 shares worth $10.25 million.
• Block beat Q4 estimates with EPS $0.65 vs. $0.26 and $6.25 billion in revenue; the stock trades around $68.66 with a market cap of $41.13 billion and a P/E of 32.7.
• Analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $81.72 (mixed upward and downward revisions), while institutional investors own ~70.4% of the company and insiders recently sold shares, leaving insiders with 10.85% ownership.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 90.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,480 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,509,611 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in Block were worth $10,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,554 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $404,000. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,271 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,532 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased 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 buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Block from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Block from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research raised Block from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America decreased their target price on Block from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.72.

Block Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE XYZ opened at $68.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.83. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $44.27 and a one year high of $82.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 2.61. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 6.66% and a net margin of 5.40%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Research analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 3,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.41, for a total value of $225,422.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 231,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,664,323.42. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,189,200. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,806 shares of company stock worth $857,468. Corporate insiders own 10.85% of the company's stock.

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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