New York State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 17,711 Shares of Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Block by 4.7%, buying 17,711 shares to hold 392,537 shares worth about $25.55 million (roughly 0.06% of the company), and institutional investors now own 70.44% of the stock.
• Insiders sold a total of 49,725 shares last quarter worth $3.4 million, including CFO Amrita Ahuja’s sale of 30,919 shares at $75 under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, though corporate insiders still own 10.85% of the company.
• Analysts have an overall "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $82.78 average price target, and Block recently beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.65 vs. $0.26) on $6.25 billion in revenue.

New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 392,537 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 17,711 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.06% of Block worth $25,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Block during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in Block by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 59,502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,873,000 after buying an additional 5,506 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Block by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 42,551 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,769,000 after buying an additional 9,287 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Block by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,730 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Block by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 276,188 shares of the technology company's stock worth $17,979,000 after buying an additional 14,754 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 3,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 231,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,664,323.42. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 30,919 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 500,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,561,200. This trade represents a 5.81% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 49,725 shares of company stock worth $3,401,393 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Block from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Block from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.78.

Block Stock Up 2.0%

Block stock opened at $71.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.57. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.84 and its 200-day moving average is $64.37. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.27 and a fifty-two week 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Block Company 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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