QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $8.59 Million Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,555 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,779 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $8,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Arnhold LLC purchased a new position in Block during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Block by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,903 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Block by 6.0% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,134 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. SIH Partners LLLP purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the first quarter worth $16,918,000. Finally, River Global Investors LLP raised its holdings in shares of Block by 18.4% during the first quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 21,963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Block from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.33.

Block Price Performance

NYSE SQ traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $72.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,285,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,962,103. The firm has a market cap of $44.45 billion, a PE ratio of 94.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.72.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.75 billion. Block had a return on equity of 2.04% and a net margin of 2.18%. Sell-side analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $7,679,410.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 603,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,796,849.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,796,849.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $483,712.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,158,456.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 135,673 shares of company stock worth $9,188,222 in the last quarter. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.