Block (NYSE:XYZ) Given New $87.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price target reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $100.00 to $87.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the technology company’s stock.

XYZ has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.23.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:XYZ opened at $68.34 on Friday. Block has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $99.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its 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). Block had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 5.24%. The business had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.23 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Block will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,247 shares of company stock valued at $832,865 in the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in XYZ. Creative Planning raised its stake in Block by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 73,399 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,927,000 after acquiring an additional 6,990 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Block by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,798 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Block by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,322 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,850,000. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in Block by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 109,276 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,336,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.