Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 770.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,538,849 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.28% of Block worth $116,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SQ. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,605,124.74. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,283 shares of company stock worth $862,773 over the last quarter. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.18.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE SQ opened at $92.26 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.10. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $94.12. The company has a market cap of $57.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

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.