Duality Advisers LP Reduces Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Duality Advisers LP lessened its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 46.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,972 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 29,943 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Block were worth $2,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Block by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 145,192 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,231,000 after acquiring an additional 31,957 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 125.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,955 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 8,882 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,750 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 2,185 shares in the last quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 0.7 %

Block stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $69.96. The stock had a trading volume of 2,560,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,930,986. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The firm has a market cap of $43.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 414.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.75 and a 200 day moving average of $66.38.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $165,958.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175 in the last ninety days. 10.79% of the stock is owned by company 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.