Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Takes Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,815 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Block during the third quarter valued at about $1,583,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Block by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 56,249 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,589 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Block by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,306 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Block by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 227,325 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,260,000 after buying an additional 8,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prana Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Block by 151.2% in the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 72,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,895,000 after buying an additional 43,887 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

SQ opened at $94.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $58.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.16. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $99.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $388,920.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 255,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,742,652.88. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,918 shares of company stock worth $2,666,147 in the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQ has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.21.

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.