Strs Ohio Has $15 Million Stock Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• STRS Ohio trimmed its stake in Block by 7.1% in Q4, selling 17,510 shares and ending the period with 230,512 shares valued at about $15.0 million per its Form 13F filing.
• Corporate insiders have sold a total of 49,725 shares over the last 90 days worth roughly $3.4 million, including recent 10b5‑1 plan sales by Chrysty Esperanza and Brian Grassadonia.
• Analysts are broadly positive—Block recently beat EPS estimates ($0.65 vs. $0.26) and has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $82.78 amid several upgrades (e.g., Morgan Stanley to overweight).

Strs Ohio lowered its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,512 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 17,510 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Block were worth $15,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,190,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,089 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Block by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,894 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S raised its position in shares of Block by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 285,256 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $18,567,000 after acquiring an additional 26,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its position in shares of Block by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 2,158,976 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $140,528,000 after acquiring an additional 365,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 268,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,112,675. This trade represents a 1.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,769 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.25, for a total transaction of $106,582.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 500,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,170,970.75. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,725 shares of company stock valued at $3,401,393. Corporate insiders own 11.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on XYZ shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Block from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Block from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Block from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Block to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Block from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $72.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.78.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE XYZ opened at $71.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $43.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.27 and a 1-year high of $82.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.29.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. Block's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding XYZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.