Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Raises Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,044 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Block by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Block in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in Block in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tobam boosted its holdings in Block by 885.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 483 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Block by 124.5% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 741 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lawrence Henry Summers sold 3,669 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.46, for a total transaction of $295,207.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,497,441.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Lawrence Henry Summers sold 3,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.46, for a total transaction of $295,207.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,497,441.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 5,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.29, for a total transaction of $240,849.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 297,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,194,611.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,891 shares of company stock valued at $1,301,534. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

SQ stock opened at $40.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.40. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.91 and a 12-month high of $89.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -90.95 and a beta of 2.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. Block had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Block in a report on Friday, October 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.82.

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.