Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Bought by Certuity LLC

Certuity LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,591 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $5,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 10.4% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,222,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,112,000 after purchasing an additional 115,132 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in shares of Block by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 261,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Block by 16.1% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,373,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,807,000 after acquiring an additional 190,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter worth about $359,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded down $2.20 on Tuesday, hitting $73.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,419,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,693,672. The company has a market capitalization of $45.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 438.12, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.61.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The firm 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SQ. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.67.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $42,180.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175. Company insiders own 10.79% 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.