ARK Investment Management LLC Sells 1,667,032 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

ARK Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,625,470 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,667,032 shares during the period. Block comprises about 4.1% of ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. ARK Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.07% of Block worth $444,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Block by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $650,396,000 after buying an additional 3,163,975 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after acquiring an additional 934,588 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Block by 76.7% in the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $118,103,000 after acquiring an additional 795,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Block by 1,061.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,413,000 after acquiring an additional 601,020 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Block by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,107,712,000 after acquiring an additional 582,826 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,572,170.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $388,920.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at $16,742,652.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 580,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,572,170.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

SQ opened at $75.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.63 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.95. The stock has a market cap of $46.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Oppenheimer started coverage on Block in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. William Blair upgraded Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.96.

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.