Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Stake Lifted by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 587.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,547 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 12,432 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Block were worth $1,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Block during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Block by 843.2% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the first quarter worth $33,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE SQ traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $59.89. The stock had a trading volume of 12,855,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,885,110. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.29. The firm has a market cap of $36.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released 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. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.04%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.75 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $91,070.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 93,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,651,194.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $91,070.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 93,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,651,194.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,505 shares of company stock valued at $1,683,811 in the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SQ. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.25.

Block 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.