Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 2,305 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,167 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,305 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Block were worth $3,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,129,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Block by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,493 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Block by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Block by 18.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Block by 38.1% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,893 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Macquarie lifted their target price on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.77.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $82.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.44, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $88.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.96. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $99.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at $7,088,560. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,103,280. The trade was a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185 over the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.