PDT Partners LLC Has $4.36 Million Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

PDT Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 11.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 64,964 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,216 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $4,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the first quarter worth $34,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 1st quarter valued at $2,842,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 58,991 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,989,000 after acquiring an additional 8,926 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Block by 194.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,642 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,851,000 after acquiring an additional 69,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Block by 100.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,778,000 after purchasing an additional 16,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:SQ opened at $88.51 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $94.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market cap of $54.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 2.48.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $609,015.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 246,967 shares in the company, valued at $22,580,192.81. This trade represents a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SQ. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, November 15th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.46.

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.