SRN Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

SRN Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 33.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,468 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 10,460 shares during the period. Block comprises 1.4% of SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Block by 3,995.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 901 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Block by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Block during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Block by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,860 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC increased its stake in Block by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 3,654 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SQ shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. William Blair raised shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.22.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $483,712.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,886 shares in the company, valued at $20,158,456.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,505 shares of company stock valued at $1,683,811 in the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,898,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,386,237. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.21. The firm has a market cap of $37.26 billion, a PE ratio of 78.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 2.52. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.27 billion. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

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.