Block (NYSE:XYZ) Price Target Lowered to $70.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price target lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $80.00 to $70.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the technology company’s stock.

XYZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Block from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn cut Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Block from $86.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Block from $103.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.54.

Block Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of XYZ opened at $47.95 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $29.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.83. Block has a 12-month low of $44.27 and a 12-month high of $99.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.80.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. Block had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 5.80%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Block will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.48, for a total transaction of $27,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 81,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,467,305.52. This trade represents a 0.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $446,180.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 235,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,585,253.28. The trade was a 2.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,324 shares of company stock valued at $1,297,662 over the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Block by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Block by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of Block by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Block by 92.3% in the 4th quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Block in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Block

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.