abrdn plc Acquires 9,487 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

abrdn plc increased its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,462 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,487 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Block were worth $12,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Block during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Block in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the second quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total transaction of $30,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 92,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,715,608.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total value of $388,920.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,742,652.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total value of $30,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,715,608.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SQ shares. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.79.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of SQ opened at $72.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.38, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.78 and a twelve month 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.95.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its 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 net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.