Wasatch Advisors LP Has $2.07 Million Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 19.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,782 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Block were worth $2,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Block in the first quarter valued at about $2,842,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Block by 194.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,642 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,851,000 after acquiring an additional 69,146 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in Block by 100.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,778,000 after acquiring an additional 16,492 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in Block by 6.4% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 88,960 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,737,000 after acquiring an additional 5,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Block by 272.5% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,680 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,088,560. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972 in the last 90 days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SQ shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.46.

Block Price Performance

SQ stock opened at $88.55 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.88 billion, a PE ratio of 49.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.03 and its 200-day moving average is $68.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.00 and a 1 year high of $94.12.

Block 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.