Insider Selling: Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) Insider Sells 3,009 Shares of Stock

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total transaction of $169,677.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 131,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,399,890.53. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Chrysty Esperanza also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 12th, Chrysty Esperanza sold 7,500 shares of Block stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $412,500.00.

Block Stock Performance

XYZ stock opened at $58.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.83. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $55.32. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $44.27 and a one year high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.23 billion. Block had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 5.80%. Equities research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Block from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Block in a report on Saturday, February 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.52.

Institutional Trading of Block

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Block by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Magnus Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. purchased a new stake in Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $243,000. 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.