PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Buys Shares of 552,182 Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• PFA Pension bought 552,182 shares of Block (≈$36.19 million), leaving it with about a 0.09% stake at quarter end, while institutional investors collectively own 70.44% of the stock.
• Block reported an earnings beat, with $0.65 EPS vs. $0.26 consensus and revenue of $6.25 billion (up 3.6% year-over-year) for the quarter.
• Insiders sold 49,725 shares worth roughly $3.4 million over the last quarter (insiders now own 11.37%), and analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target price of $82.78.

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 552,182 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $36,190,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned about 0.09% of Block at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Block by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,626,485 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,887,366,000 after acquiring an additional 12,709,824 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $535,305,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Block by 192.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,296,224 shares of the technology company's stock worth $816,378,000 after acquiring an additional 7,436,380 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $368,213,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Block by 241.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,778,298 shares of the technology company's stock worth $273,058,000 after acquiring an additional 2,671,713 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $71.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.57. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.27 and a 52-week high of $82.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company's 50 day moving average price is $62.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.29.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 30,919 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 500,816 shares in the company, valued at $37,561,200. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $517,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 49,725 shares of company stock worth $3,401,393 over the last quarter. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on XYZ shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Block from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Block from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Block from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.78.

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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