Insider Selling: Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Insider Sells 2,836 Shares of Stock

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total transaction of $253,481.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares in the company, valued at $17,469,231.62. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Block Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $87.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $87.84 and a 200-day moving average of $73.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.25, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SQ shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQ. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth $3,917,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Block by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 43,167 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth about $1,129,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,493 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Block by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 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.