Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Block (NYSE:XYZ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price objective increased by Bank of America from $86.00 to $88.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Compass Point reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $77.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.42.

Block Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of XYZ traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.88. 13,041,303 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,557,402. The stock has a market cap of $37.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 2.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.26. Block has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. Block had a return on equity of 5.54% and a net margin of 12.99%.The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Block’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Block will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total transaction of $78,508.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 253,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,988,290.12. This trade represents a 0.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,581 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $493,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 285,551 shares in the company, valued at $21,416,325. This represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 61,360 shares of company stock valued at $4,799,162 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter valued at about $5,494,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Block by 11.7% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 23,177 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after buying an additional 2,433 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 21,576 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,559,000 after buying an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter valued at about $289,000. Finally, Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $129,588,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.