Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Makes New $8.55 Million Investment in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 125,873 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,551,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in XYZ. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased 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 in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. CNB Bank purchased a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, City State Bank bought a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 406 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.77, for a total transaction of $30,356.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 126,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,481,284.62. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $60,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 102,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,184,640. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 123,041 shares of company stock valued at $9,355,075. Insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of XYZ stock opened at $76.60 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.68 and its 200 day moving average is $68.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $46.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 2.71. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.27 and a twelve month high of $99.26.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on XYZ shares. BNP Paribas cut Block from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Block from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Piper Sandler reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on Block from $71.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $97.00 price target (up previously from $63.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.42.

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.