Raymond James Cuts Block (NYSE:XYZ) Price Target to $103.00

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Raymond James from $115.00 to $103.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Raymond James’ target price points to a potential upside of 47.54% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.00.

Block Stock Down 15.9 %

Shares of NYSE XYZ traded down $13.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.81. The company had a trading volume of 17,308,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,218,886. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $99.26. The stock has a market cap of $43.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $6.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.23 billion. Block had a net margin of 4.73% and a return on equity of 5.24%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at $8,097,325. The trade was a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 9,247 shares of company stock valued at $832,865 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Block by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Block by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Block by 1.9% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,864 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of Block by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.