Rep. Josh Gottheimer Purchases Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) recently bought shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ). In a filing disclosed on January 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Block stock on December 30th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1” account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 12/30/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Grupo Financiero Banorte (OTCMKTS:GBOOY) on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Cadre (NYSE:CDRE) on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Coloplast A/S (OTCMKTS:CLPBY) on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) on 12/23/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Trane Technologies (NYSE:TT) on 12/23/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) on 12/20/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 12/19/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Walmart (NYSE:WMT) on 12/19/2024.

Block Stock Up 2.9 %

SQ stock opened at $84.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $52.58 billion, a PE ratio of 47.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total transaction of $759,347.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 563,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,415,854.92. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total value of $253,481.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares in the company, valued at $17,469,231.62. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SQ shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Block from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in Block during the third quarter worth $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Block by 770.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. raised its stake in Block by 76.7% during the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,103,000 after buying an additional 795,000 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 1,061.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,413,000 after buying an additional 601,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2024 election. Gottheimer was first elected to the House in 2016. Prior to his election, Gottheimer worked for Microsoft, the Federal Communications Commission, and for the administration of President Bill Clinton (D). Click here for more information about Gottheimer’s career. Gottheimer serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where is a member of three subcommittees. For more on Gottheimer’s committee assignments, click here. Gottheimer became a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in February 2017. Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

Block Company Profile

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.