Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Invests $256.21 Million in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. acquired a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,770,562 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,210,000. Block accounts for approximately 2.6% of Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,055,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter worth approximately $415,575,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,628,000. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,937,000. Finally, Shelton Capital Management bought a new position in Block in the second quarter worth approximately $1,562,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 9,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total transaction of $611,482.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 272,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,760,051. This represents a 3.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total value of $221,531.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 123,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,564,357.20. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 99,198 shares of company stock valued at $6,968,155 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial upgraded Block from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.42.

Block Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE XYZ opened at $64.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.42 and its 200 day moving average is $71.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $95.78. The stock has a market cap of $39.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 2.65.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.