Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,690,075 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 133,002 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $581,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Block by 0.5% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,891,000 after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Block by 13.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $72,709,000 after purchasing an additional 128,832 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in shares of Block by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $686,948,000 after buying an additional 147,873 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 6.2% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 253,787 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $17,037,000 after buying an additional 14,822 shares during the period. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in Block by 13.9% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after acquiring an additional 934,588 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Block from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total value of $759,347.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 563,894 shares in the company, valued at $51,415,854.92. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,918 shares of company stock valued at $2,666,147. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $94.06 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $99.26. The company has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a PE ratio of 52.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $80.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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.