Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target to $80.00

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $71.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.94% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also 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 research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. William Blair upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research started coverage on Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.56.

Block Price Performance

SQ stock traded down $3.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.11. 14,123,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,982,681. The stock has a market cap of $44.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 2.48. Block has a one year low of $50.86 and a one year high of $87.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total value of $388,920.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 255,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,742,652.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Block by 0.4% during the third quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,688 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings 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 worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Block by 6.3% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its stake in shares of Block by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 1,351 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.