Hartline Investment Corp Raises Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Hartline Investment Corp increased its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,602 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the quarter. Block accounts for 0.7% of Hartline Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Block were worth $5,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Block by 53.9% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,947 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,432 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Block by 28.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,750 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,755,000 after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Block by 6.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,928 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Block by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 301,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,531,000 after buying an additional 48,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Block by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 222,495 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $18,819,000 after buying an additional 6,556 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on SQ shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.30.

Block Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE SQ opened at $87.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.99, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.48. 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 one year low of $50.86 and a one year high of $87.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $69.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.00.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $90,968.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at $5,885,112. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,714 shares of company stock valued at $1,606,992 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.