Block (NYSE:XYZ) Shares Pass Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) shares passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.78 and traded as low as $61.21. Block shares last traded at $61.38, with a volume of 7,356,756 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XYZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Block from $115.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Block from $98.00 to $97.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Block from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.41.

Block Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. Block had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 5.80%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 3,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $221,236.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 548,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,310,081.97. This trade represents a 0.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total value of $253,481.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 195,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,469,231.62. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,967 shares of company stock valued at $1,649,113. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in XYZ. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in Block by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Block by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,864 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Block by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.