Block (NYSE:SQ) Trading 0.6% Higher

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)’s share price traded up 0.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $66.58 and last traded at $65.73. 1,355,007 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 8,673,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.59.

Block Trading Up 0.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $40.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.27 billion. Block had a return on equity of 3.77% and a net margin of 3.47%. The company’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $30,318.27. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 92,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,977,784.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,277 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.13, for a total transaction of $338,414.01. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 274,410 shares in the company, valued at $17,597,913.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $30,318.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,977,784.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,179 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,962 in the last quarter. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Block by 1.3% in 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 last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its holdings in Block by 7.2% in the first quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Block by 25.4% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CAP Partners LLC grew its holdings in Block by 3.5% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.