Nordea Investment Management AB Makes New $3.11 Million Investment in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB has made a new investment in Block, Inc. ($XYZ), acquiring approximately 45,725 shares valued at around $3.11 million.
• Insider sales have occurred, including Owen Britton Jennings selling 10,424 shares for about $763,037, representing a decrease in ownership.
• Analyst ratings for Block show a consensus of "Moderate Buy," with price targets ranging from $71.00 to $95.00 based on recent research reports.

Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 45,725 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,105,000.

Separately, Praxis Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at $508,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,424 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total value of $763,036.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 263,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,288,712.40. The trade was a 3.81% 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 Dhananjay Prasanna sold 5,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.72, for a total transaction of $417,181.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 289,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,341,350.24. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 123,041 shares of company stock valued at $9,355,075. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XYZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Block from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $79.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.03.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $77.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 2.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.27 and a 52 week high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.41. Block had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The company had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.32 billion. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Block Profile

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.

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