Avory & Company LLC Buys 4,269 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Avory & Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 270,734 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the period. Block comprises about 14.7% of Avory & Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Avory & Company LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $20,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Block by 2.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 113,235 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,012,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 0.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 276,975 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,259,000 after buying an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of Block by 8.4% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 113,537 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,025,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Block during the third quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Block by 89.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a research report 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 report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.67.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of SQ stock traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $73.13. The stock had a trading volume of 4,706,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,697,023. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a PE ratio of 438.12, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 2.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $77.58 and its 200 day moving average is $67.61. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $42,180.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175 in the last three months. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Block Company 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.