Block (NYSE:SQ) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) in a report published on Saturday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on SQ. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.10.

Block Price Performance

Block has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The firm has a market cap of $53.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.92, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total value of $253,481.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,781 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $162,836.83. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 86,010 shares in the company, valued at $7,863,894.30. This trade represents a 2.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,017 shares of company stock valued at $2,364,065 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Block by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Block by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Block by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,688 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Block by 1.9% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Block by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,864 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.