12,529 Shares in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Acquired by Alpha Cubed Investments LLC

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,529 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,065,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,891,000 after buying an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in Block by 13.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,709,000 after acquiring an additional 128,832 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in Block by 1.5% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $686,948,000 after acquiring an additional 147,873 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Block by 6.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 253,787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,037,000 after purchasing an additional 14,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its position 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 worth $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Up 0.7 %

SQ opened at $87.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.00 and a 1 year high of $99.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.82. The company has a market cap of $53.92 billion, a PE ratio of 48.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.68.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. This trade represents a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 88,791 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185. 10.49% of the stock is currently 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.