Strs Ohio Has $3.57 Million Stake in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Strs Ohio cut its Block position sharply in the first quarter, reducing its holdings by 74.2% and ending with 59,393 shares valued at about $3.57 million.
• Block beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $0.85 EPS versus the $0.30 estimate and generating $6.06 billion in revenue, up 4.9% year over year.
• Insider selling and mixed analyst sentiment were notable, with CFO Amrita Ahuja and insider Brian Grassadonia selling shares, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $87.56.

Strs Ohio lowered its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 74.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,393 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 171,119 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Block were worth $3,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Inceptionr LLC grew its holdings in Block by 455.1% during the 3rd quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 19,480 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 15,971 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp raised its stake in shares of Block by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 39,281 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,557,000 after acquiring an additional 18,812 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,651 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,753,000 after purchasing an additional 15,670 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Block by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 833,124 shares of the technology company's stock worth $54,228,000 after purchasing an additional 64,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Block by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,223,824 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $79,749,000 after purchasing an additional 82,446 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Trading Down 1.3%

XYZ stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 550,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,111,175. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $72.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.21 and a 52 week high of $82.50. The stock has a market cap of $46.37 billion, a PE ratio of 60.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.54.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $6.06 billion during the quarter. Block had a return on equity of 7.02% and a net margin of 3.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. Block has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.860-0.860 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.850-3.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 30,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $2,318,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 500,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,561,200. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 8,166 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $555,369.66. Following the transaction, the insider owned 601,002 shares in the company, valued at $40,874,146.02. This trade represents a 1.34% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 289,871 shares of company stock worth $21,942,701. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XYZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup lowered Block from a "buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Block from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.56.

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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