Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 770.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Block were worth $116,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Corp boosted its position in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Block in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SQ stock opened at $92.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.10. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $94.12. The company has a market cap of $57.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.83, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. New Street Research began coverage on Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,605,124.74. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,283 shares of company stock worth $862,773. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Company 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.