Block (NYSE:XYZ) Given New $94.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Block (NYSE:XYZ) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $109.00 to $94.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 33.13% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Block in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.73.

Block Trading Down 15.0 %

Shares of XYZ traded down $12.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.61. 20,875,772 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,334,886. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market cap of $43.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.52. Block has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26.

Block (NYSE:XYZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Block will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 2,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.72, for a total transaction of $177,255.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 83,966 shares in the company, valued at $7,281,531.52. The trade was a 2.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,955,057.48. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,247 shares of company stock worth $832,865 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp raised its position in Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Block by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Block by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 64.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Block by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.