Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $18.95 Million in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Ohio’s public employees’ retirement system acquired 249,297 Block shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $18.95 million. Hedge funds and institutional investors collectively own 70.44% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.84; several firms recently raised their targets to between $98 and $115.
• Block reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, beating estimates of $0.48, while revenue rose 9.3% year over year to $6.62 billion. Shares opened at $83.58, near their 52-week high, although insiders have sold $39.6 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 249,297 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $18,947,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Block by 301.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 389 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Block during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 610 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on XYZ. Zacks Research lowered Block from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $92.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Block from a "buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 1,317 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.48, for a total value of $107,309.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 460,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,491,229.44. This trade represents a 0.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,173 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.42, for a total value of $673,618.66. Following the transaction, the insider owned 513,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,362,314.02. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 501,756 shares of company stock valued at $39,582,259. Company insiders own 11.37% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Block stock opened at $83.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.21 and a 52-week high of $86.92. The company's 50 day moving average price is $79.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.53.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Block has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.020-4.020 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.020-1.020 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

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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