Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Bought by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 1,122.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 59,900 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Block were worth $4,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 843.2% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Block by 67,500.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 72.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 610 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.17, for a total value of $8,748,317.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 443,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,705,838.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.17, for a total transaction of $8,748,317.38. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 443,979 shares in the company, valued at $34,705,838.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 346,432 shares of company stock valued at $26,390,936 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Block stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $67.02. 1,459,804 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,713,435. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.76.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.32. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.04%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SQ. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Block from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.59.

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.