Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Purchased by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,407 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Block in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Price Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $65.95 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.84 and a 200-day moving average of $68.25. The company has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.65, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52. 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 (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.34.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $430,966.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 264,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,125,895.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,542 shares of company stock valued at $1,343,635. Company 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.