LGT Group Foundation bought a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ – Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,412 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.
A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $528,996,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of Block by 3,525.7% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,935,002 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $459,072,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771,310 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,606,269 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $510,995,000 after purchasing an additional 2,720,123 shares during the period. Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,021,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Block by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,192,701 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,799,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,043 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Block Stock Performance
SQ stock traded down $1.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.00. 4,385,379 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,847,513. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $37.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.98, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 2.52. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.48.
Insider Transactions at Block
In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,443,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $30,318.27. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,866 shares in the company, valued at $5,977,784.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 138,173 shares of company stock valued at $9,363,222. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
SQ has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.25.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Block
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.
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