Sei Investments Co. Has $11.78 Million Stock Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Sei Investments Co. lessened its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 65.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,606 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 346,829 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Block were worth $11,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 9.3% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,780 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Block by 1,061.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,413,000 after purchasing an additional 601,020 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Block by 2,189.9% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 47,974 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 45,879 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Block by 179.4% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 108,697 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,010,000 after purchasing an additional 69,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 189.9% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,002 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 4,587 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $66.98 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.91 and a 200-day moving average of $68.76. The company has a market capitalization of $41.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.99, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $30,318.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,977,784.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $121,594.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 590,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,027,285.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $30,318.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 92,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,977,784.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,179 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,962 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.34.

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.