Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,771 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 616 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. WP Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 5,381 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 38.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Block by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 57,232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,427,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Block from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.67.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ traded up $1.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.50. 4,648,118 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,805,016. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $77.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.11. The firm has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 435.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 2.55. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total value of $328,762.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 193,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,231,257.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 193,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,231,257.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175. 10.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.