SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Buys 2,269 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,893 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,269 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Block during the third quarter valued at about $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Block by 770.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,719,000 after buying an additional 1,538,849 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in Block by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Block by 76.7% in the second quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,103,000 after buying an additional 795,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Block by 1,061.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,413,000 after acquiring an additional 601,020 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total value of $759,347.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 563,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,415,854.92. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,981 shares of company stock valued at $2,681,185 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

SQ stock opened at $82.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.36. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.00 and a 52-week high of $99.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.32, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Block from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.35.

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.