Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Bought by Sanders Morris Harris LLC

Sanders Morris Harris LLC lifted its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,870 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Block by 843.2% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in Block by 67,500.0% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $483,712.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,158,456.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,158,456.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 5,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $367,345.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 599,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,695,429. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 247,739 shares of company stock valued at $18,584,747. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Block Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SQ traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.97. The company had a trading volume of 7,967,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,578,993. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.73. The stock has a market cap of $38.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.78, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Block had a return on equity of 2.04% and a net margin of 2.18%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.59.

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.