Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Buys Shares of 11,401 Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 11,401 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Block by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,222,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,112,000 after acquiring an additional 115,132 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Block by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 261,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,565,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Block by 16.1% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,373,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,807,000 after buying an additional 190,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $359,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Up 2.3 %

SQ stock opened at $74.48 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.26. The stock has a market cap of $45.86 billion, a PE ratio of 438.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 2.55.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SQ. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total transaction of $328,762.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 193,192 shares in the company, valued at $15,231,257.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175. Insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

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.