Kovack Advisors Inc. Invests $3.16 Million in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 46,513 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,160,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter worth $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter worth $46,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Block during the second quarter valued at $46,000. CNB Bank bought a new stake in Block during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Block during the second quarter valued at $52,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $73.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 2.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $76.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.02. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.27 and a 12 month high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $6.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.32 billion. Block had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 12.32%.Block’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,424 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total transaction of $763,036.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 263,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,288,712.40. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 3,609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total value of $264,178.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 127,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,311,918.40. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 119,441 shares of company stock worth $9,085,327. 10.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XYZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Block from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Block from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Block from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. BNP Paribas lowered Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.42.

Block 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.