AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,370 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 98,169 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $8,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Block during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.34.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.57, for a total value of $76,355.79. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 271,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,066,698.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,542 shares of company stock worth $1,343,635. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE SQ opened at $65.04 on Thursday. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.23. The company has a market cap of $40.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 2.49.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.