Simplicity Solutions LLC Raises Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,508 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,620 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Block by 3,525.7% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,935,002 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $459,072,000 after buying an additional 5,771,310 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth about $353,954,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $172,001,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Block by 72.8% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,683,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,765,000 after buying an additional 1,130,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 11,887,628 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $919,508,000 after buying an additional 1,000,514 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $165,958.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $72.05 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.68 and a 200-day moving average of $65.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.36 billion, a PE ratio of 432.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SQ. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. BTIG Research raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.41.

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.