Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Stock Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its Block position by 29.8% in the first quarter, adding 17,721 shares to bring its total to 77,223 shares worth about $4.65 million.
• Several major institutions also boosted or initiated stakes in Block, and 70.44% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $88.64, while Block also recently beat earnings estimates with quarterly EPS of $0.85 versus $0.30 expected.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) by 29.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,223 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,721 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Block were worth $4,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XYZ. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Block by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,023,441 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,042,966,000 after buying an additional 4,727,217 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,406,899 shares of the technology company's stock worth $934,121,000 after acquiring an additional 67,560 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $535,305,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Block during the 4th quarter valued at about $484,387,000. Finally, Tiger Global Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 6,364,840 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $414,287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941,528 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on XYZ. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Block in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities set a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.64.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 43,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $3,467,840.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 557,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,612,320. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 30,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 500,816 shares in the company, valued at $37,561,200. This trade represents a 5.81% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 357,219 shares of company stock valued at $27,286,681. Company insiders own 11.37% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of XYZ opened at $80.00 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.21 and a 12-month high of $84.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.62. The stock has a market cap of $47.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.50, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 2.54.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.55. The company 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. 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, research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Block 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.

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