Block (NYSE:SQ) Shares Down 1.9%

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) was down 1.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $60.95 and last traded at $60.95. Approximately 1,541,902 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 9,391,995 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SQ. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.59.

Block Trading Up 0.5 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 2.54.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.04%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total value of $328,762.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,192 shares in the company, valued at $15,231,257.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value of $42,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 247,739 shares of company stock worth $18,584,747. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SQ. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its position in Block by 7.2% during the first quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Block by 25.4% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CAP Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.