Sands Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Sands Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,603,057 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,262,317 shares during the quarter. Block accounts for approximately 2.3% of Sands Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Sands Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.90% of Block worth $838,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth approximately $3,730,489,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Block in the second quarter worth approximately $634,721,000. Dragoneer Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Block in the second quarter worth approximately $627,233,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $535,305,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $515,857,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on XYZ shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial set a $72.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Block from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.79.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 3,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.41, for a total transaction of $225,422.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 231,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,664,323.42. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 10,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $517,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 503,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,189,200. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,352 shares of company stock worth $1,165,720. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:XYZ opened at $65.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.86 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $82.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.60.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Block Company Profile

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.