Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Holdings Boosted by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 147,873 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Block were worth $686,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,392 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Block by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,608 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 276,836 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,584,000 after buying an additional 4,525 shares during the period. Finally, River Global Investors LLP boosted its stake in shares of Block by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 27,057 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $83.41 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $51.35 billion, a PE ratio of 46.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.48. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.86 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.00.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $90,968.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,885,112. This represents a 0.00 % 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. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $90,968.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at $5,885,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,714 shares of company stock worth $1,606,992. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. William Blair raised shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.37.

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.