Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,709 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 419 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Block by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,567 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $641,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its stake in Block by 1,122.4% in the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 59,900 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Block during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Block stock opened at $68.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52. The company has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.49.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. Block had a return on equity of 3.77% and a net margin of 3.47%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Block’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SQ. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.34.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Roelof Botha purchased 434,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $57.55 per share, with a total value of $25,000,007.75. Following the purchase, the director now owns 434,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,000,007.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roelof Botha purchased 434,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $57.55 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,007.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 434,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,000,007.75. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

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.