BMO Capital Markets Increases Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target to $93.00

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $92.00 to $93.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 54.28% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.53.

Block Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.28. The stock had a trading volume of 9,718,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,891,621. Block has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $87.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.64 and its 200-day moving average is $70.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 2.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The technology company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.75 billion. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.04%. Research analysts predict that Block will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $91,070.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 93,337 shares in the company, valued at $6,651,194.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 5,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total transaction of $367,345.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 599,150 shares in the company, valued at $42,695,429. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.26, for a total value of $91,070.28. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 93,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,651,194.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,505 shares of company stock valued at $1,683,811 in the last quarter. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Block in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Block by 843.2% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Block during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Block during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by 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.