Empower Advisory Group LLC Increases Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,934 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 246 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 2.5% in the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised 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 purchasing an additional 147,873 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 9.0% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,392 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Block by 1.9% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 10.7% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,608 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,678 shares of company stock worth $1,924,112. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.30.

Block Price Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $84.30 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 capitalization of $51.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.48. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $90.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $70.48 and its 200 day moving average is $67.33.

About Block

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.