Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 64,211 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 42.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,372 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 64,211 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Block were worth $16,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Block by 89.6% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 67,500.0% during the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 38.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, CNB Bank raised its position in shares of Block by 40.2% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,046 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SQ shares. KeyCorp increased their price target on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.67.

Block Stock Down 8.5 %

Shares of Block stock opened at $66.83 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.77 and its 200 day moving average is $67.82. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52. The firm has a market cap of $41.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 429.41, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current 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.