Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Bought by J. Stern & Co. LLP

J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 103.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,447 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,002 shares during the quarter. Block accounts for approximately 0.2% of J. Stern & Co. LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings in Block were worth $2,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp boosted its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $34,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at $44,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total value of $759,347.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 563,894 shares in the company, valued at $51,415,854.92. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,088,560. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE SQ traded down $0.73 on Tuesday, reaching $90.02. 1,156,703 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,213,090. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.33 and a 200 day moving average of $68.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $94.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 51.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.46.

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.