Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target to $100.00

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $105.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on SQ. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price 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 research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.77.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE SQ opened at $86.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.11 and a 200 day moving average of $73.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $99.26.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $129,953.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,955,057.48. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Block by 770.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in Block by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. raised its position in Block by 76.7% in the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,103,000 after purchasing an additional 795,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $42,413,000 after buying an additional 601,020 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Company 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.