Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price target increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $71.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. New Street Research started coverage on Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.56.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded down $0.71 on Friday, reaching $74.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,843,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,031,937. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.03. 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 has a 52-week low of $50.86 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The company has a market cap of $45.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.89, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 2.48.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $388,920.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at $16,742,652.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 1st quarter worth approximately $480,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Block by 53.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,947 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 2,432 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 28.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,750 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after acquiring an additional 4,561 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Block by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,834 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in Block by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 113,800 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,625,000 after purchasing an additional 13,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

About Block

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.