Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Holdings Cut by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,332 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,826 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $1,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in Block by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $650,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163,975 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised 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. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Block by 76.7% during the second quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,103,000 after buying an additional 795,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Block by 1,061.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,413,000 after buying an additional 601,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Block by 303.4% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 541,589 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,333,000 after acquiring an additional 407,333 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $609,015.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 246,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,580,192.81. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $89.04 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.32. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $94.12. The stock has a market cap of $55.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.02, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.46.

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.