Wedmont Private Capital Grows Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,316 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Block were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its position in Block by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,030 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in Block by 116.0% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 24,055 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after acquiring an additional 12,916 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in Block during the 4th quarter valued at about $285,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Block during the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $69.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.52, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $87.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.54. 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 (NYSE:SQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. Block had a return on equity of 3.77% and a net margin of 3.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,605,124.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,443,360. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,605,124.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,714 shares of company stock worth $1,812,932. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on SQ shares. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.31.

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.