SWS Partners Invests $3.16 Million in Block, Inc. $XYZ

SWS Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 43,732 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,161,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in Block in the second quarter worth about $3,730,489,000. Sands Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $702,446,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $634,721,000. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $627,233,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $535,305,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XYZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Block from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Block from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 35,145 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $2,811,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 535,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,871,680. The trade was a 6.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Arnaud Weber sold 7,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.40, for a total value of $435,633.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 259,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,910,950.40. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 92,617 shares of company stock worth $6,474,580 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:XYZ opened at $66.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 2.65. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.27 and a 52-week high of $94.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.18.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 5.54%. Block’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

About Block

Block (NYSE:XYZ) is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block’s portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.