Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target Increased to $90.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 23.78% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on SQ. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.55.

Block Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of SQ stock traded up $3.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $72.71. 8,714,810 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,162,993. The company has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57. Block has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.33.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.07%. Research analysts predict that Block will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of Block stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 legal filing 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 dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value of $42,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,790,374.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 1.3% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its position in Block by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Block by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, CAP Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 3.5% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.