Insider Selling: Block (NYSE:XYZ) CAO Sells 750 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Block's Chief Accounting Officer, Ajmere Dale, sold 750 shares at an average price of $80.00, totaling $60,000.00, which decreased his ownership by 0.71%.
• Block recently reported earnings of $0.62 per share for the quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations, however, revenue decreased by 1.6% year-over-year.
• Analysts have upgraded Block's stock ratings and price targets, with expectations for the stock's average price target now at $79.97.

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) CAO Ajmere Dale sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $60,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 104,328 shares in the company, valued at $8,346,240. This trade represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ajmere Dale also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 21st, Ajmere Dale sold 3,158 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $231,544.56.
• On Wednesday, July 23rd, Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $40,000.00.
• On Wednesday, July 2nd, Ajmere Dale sold 366 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.26, for a total transaction of $25,349.16.

Block Price Performance

Shares of Block stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $79.16. The stock had a trading volume of 6,547,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,847,188. The stock's 50 day moving average is $72.14 and its 200 day moving average is $64.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 2.71. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $99.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Block (NYSE:XYZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.41. Block had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.32 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Block from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Block from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Block from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.97.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Block Company Profile

Square, Inc provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's commerce ecosystem includes point-of-sale software and hardware that enables sellers to turn mobile and computing devices into payment and point-of-sale solutions. It offers hardware products, including Magstripe reader, which enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Contactless and chip reader that accepts EMV® chip cards and Near Field Communication payments; Chip card reader, which accepts EMV® chip cards and enables swiped transactions of magnetic stripe cards; Square Stand, which enables an iPad to be used as a payment terminal or full point of sale solution; and Square Register that combines its hardware, point-of-sale software, and payments technology, as well as managed payments solutions.

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