Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 3,570.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,235 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 38,166 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $2,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SQ. Azora Capital LP lifted its stake in Block by 358.4% in the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 503,402 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,793,000 after purchasing an additional 393,593 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in Block by 6.3% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 457,751 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,729,000 after purchasing an additional 27,070 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $17,746,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Block by 64.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Block by 19.6% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 30,782 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $98.95 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.71 and a 200 day moving average of $69.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.00 and a 52-week high of $98.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.33 billion, a PE ratio of 55.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,918 shares of company stock worth $2,666,147 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.49% 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.