Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 7,668 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,777 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,668 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Block in the first quarter worth $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $83.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.48. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $90.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $90,968.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,885,112. This trade represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $430,966.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 264,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,125,895.90. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,678 shares of company stock valued at $1,924,112. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.30.

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.