CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Purchases Shares of 3,550 Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,550 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Block by 0.4% in the third quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,688 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in shares of Block by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Block by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Block by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $129,953.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at $20,955,057.48. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Block from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.77.

Block Stock Down 0.5 %

SQ opened at $82.15 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $88.79 and its 200 day moving average is $74.23. The stock has a market cap of $50.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $99.26.

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.