Norden Group LLC Takes Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,681 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Block by 843.2% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Block in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $66.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $41.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 2.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.94. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $87.52.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.00.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at $40,796,849.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Block news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at $40,796,849.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $483,712.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,158,456.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 135,673 shares of company stock worth $9,188,222. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.