Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, twenty-three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $90.56.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $90,968.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at $5,885,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the firm’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 value of $539,404.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,572,170.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,214 shares of company stock valued at $1,637,932. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Block by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,511,250 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,088,122,000 after purchasing an additional 318,549 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Block by 4.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,107,712,000 after buying an additional 582,826 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 1.5% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $686,948,000 after buying an additional 147,873 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 13.9% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Block by 17.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,143,000 after acquiring an additional 326,444 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of SQ stock opened at $74.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.91 billion, a PE ratio of 58.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 2.48. Block has a 52-week low of $50.86 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.86 and its 200 day moving average is $67.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82.

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.