Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Sold by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

MUFG Securities EMEA plc lessened its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,302 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 10,906 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Block were worth $2,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Block by 843.2% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Block by 67,500.0% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Block by 38.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Block during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Block by 419.0% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 519 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SQ shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at $40,796,849.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $483,712.88. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,886 shares in the company, valued at $20,158,456.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $7,679,410.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 603,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 359,653 shares of company stock valued at $27,333,065 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded down $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.34. 6,857,107 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,377,736. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.19 and its 200-day moving average is $70.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.16, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 2.57. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.32. Block had a return on equity of 2.04% and a net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Block 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.