Westpac Banking Corp Takes Position in Block, Inc. $XYZ

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 42,141 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,863,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new position in Block in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have 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 report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Block from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.36.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, insider Dhananjay Prasanna sold 5,659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.72, for a total value of $417,181.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 289,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,341,350.24. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 10,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.20, for a total value of $763,036.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 263,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,288,712.40. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 115,441 shares of company stock worth $8,778,247 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

XYZ opened at $60.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 2.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.11. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.27 and a 52-week high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.29. Block had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Block

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.