Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Sold by Gladstone Capital Management LLP

Gladstone Capital Management LLP decreased its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 38.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 709,087 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 450,994 shares during the quarter. Block comprises 4.0% of Gladstone Capital Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Gladstone Capital Management LLP’s holdings in Block were worth $45,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Block during the first quarter worth $35,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Roelof Botha purchased 434,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $57.55 per share, with a total value of $25,000,007.75. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 434,405 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,007.75. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962 over the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Block Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $67.46 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.96. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52. The company has a market cap of $41.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.27 billion. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. Block’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SQ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.34.

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.