Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 6.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,531 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Block were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SQ. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 1.3% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its holdings in shares of Block by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CAP Partners LLC raised its holdings in Block by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair raised shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.34.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $121,594.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 590,761 shares in the company, valued at $38,027,285.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $121,594.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 590,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,027,285.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $30,318.27. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 92,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,977,784.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,179 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,962 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Block stock opened at $63.99 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.