Block (NYSE:SQ) Trading 0.7% Higher

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)’s share price traded up 0.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $62.67 and last traded at $62.32. 925,400 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 9,340,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.59.

Block Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.69. The stock has a market cap of $38.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.75 billion. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.04%. Analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $483,712.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,158,456.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 603,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 247,739 shares of company stock worth $18,584,747 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in Block by 1.3% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Block by 25.4% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in shares of Block by 7.2% during the first 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 holdings in shares of Block by 3.4% during the first 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 period. Finally, CAP Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 3.5% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.