WBI Investments LLC Takes $349,000 Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,121 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Block by 843.2% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded up $1.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $66.10. 5,550,009 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,969,530. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.97. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The firm has a market cap of $40.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.56, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.75 billion. Block had a return on equity of 2.04% and a net margin of 2.18%. Equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at $40,796,849.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $483,712.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,886 shares in the company, valued at $20,158,456.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,673 shares of company stock valued at $9,188,222 over the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Block from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.00.

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.