Stevens Capital Management LP Takes Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,603 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Block by 72.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 610 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 616 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 89.6% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its position in Block by 67,500.0% during the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.50. 4,648,118 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,805,016. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The firm has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 435.47, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 2.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,790,374.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175 over the last ninety days. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on SQ shares. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased 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. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.67.

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.