Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Holdings Cut by AtonRa Partners

AtonRa Partners reduced its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,643 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,035 shares during the period. Block makes up about 1.6% of AtonRa Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. AtonRa Partners’ holdings in Block were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in Block by 3,525.7% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,935,002 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $459,072,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771,310 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at about $172,001,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in Block by 72.8% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,683,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,765,000 after buying an additional 1,130,925 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 9.2% during the 4th 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Block by 396.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,228,886 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,390,000 after acquiring an additional 981,320 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 4,514 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total value of $353,942.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 477,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,424,308.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total value of $328,762.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,231,257.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 4,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total transaction of $353,942.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 477,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,424,308.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175 over the last 90 days. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SQ. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.67.

Block Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Block stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Monday, hitting $75.30. 6,126,613 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,760,169. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.40. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The stock has a market cap of $46.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 438.12, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released 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. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. Equities research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.