Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Acquires Shares of 8,000 Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,000 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $619,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SQ. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 89.6% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Block by 67,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Block by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Block by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,046 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Block stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $72.79. 5,270,332 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,869,120. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a PE ratio of 442.41, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 2.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.86.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total transaction of $328,762.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,231,257.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175. Insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Block 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.