NewEdge Wealth LLC Purchases 2,970 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 49.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,998 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,970 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,222,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,112,000 after purchasing an additional 115,132 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its stake in Block by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 261,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,565,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in Block during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Block by 16.1% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,373,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,807,000 after buying an additional 190,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth about $359,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.73, for a total value of $9,238,128.18. Following the sale, the insider now owns 485,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,177,410.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $42,180.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175 over the last quarter. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $73.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.02 billion, a PE ratio of 432.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 2.55. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SQ. TheStreet raised shares of Block from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.41.

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.