Western Financial Corp CA Buys New Stake in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Key Points

• Western Financial Corp CA acquired 16,596 Block shares during the third quarter, valued at approximately $1.22 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70.44% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Block carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $95.45; several firms recently raised targets or upgraded the stock.
• Block reported quarterly revenue of $6.62 billion and EPS of $1.02, beating the $0.48 consensus estimate, while shares recently traded at $75.84. Insiders have sold $24.9 million worth of stock over the past 90 days under pre-arranged trading plans.

Western Financial Corp CA purchased a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,596 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,220,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its position in shares of Block by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 44,901 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 3.3% during the second quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,081 shares of the technology company's stock worth $462,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Block by 2.6% during the first quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 8,035 shares of the technology company's stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the technology company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Block by 8.1% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,825 shares of the technology company's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Block in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Block from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Block from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Block to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.45.

Block Trading Down 1.3%

XYZ traded down $1.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.84. 5,194,236 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,211,134. The stock's 50-day moving average is $78.78 and its 200 day moving average is $74.69. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.21 and a 12 month high of $86.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.57 billion, a PE ratio of 135.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.54. Block had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 25,908 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.64, for a total transaction of $2,115,129.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 531,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,411,743.44. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,511 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total value of $783,991.73. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 423,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,889,486.66. The trade was a 2.20% 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. Insiders have sold 308,565 shares of company stock worth $24,866,166 in the last ninety days. 11.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Block Company Profile

Block, Inc NYSE: XYZ, formerly known as Square, is a financial technology company that develops tools for businesses, consumers and creators. Founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, the company changed its corporate name to Block in 2021 to reflect the expansion of its operations beyond its original seller-payments business.

Block's Square ecosystem provides payment processing, point-of-sale hardware and software, business banking, invoicing, payroll, inventory management and other services for merchants.

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