Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 44,209 Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 44,209 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,757,000. Block accounts for about 2.0% of Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter worth approximately $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Block by 770.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Block by 76.7% during the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,103,000 after purchasing an additional 795,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Block by 1,061.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,413,000 after buying an additional 601,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

SQ stock opened at $87.00 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.82. The firm has a market cap of $53.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.88, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.00 and a 1 year high of $99.26.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of Block stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at $20,955,057.48. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185 over the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on SQ shares. Macquarie raised their price target on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Raymond James raised shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.68.

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.