Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ – Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 246,771 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 33,719 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Block were worth $16,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Block by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 380,629 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,919,000 after acquiring an additional 28,516 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in Block by 10.1% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 5,152 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp raised its position in Block by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 8,667 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Block in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in Block by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 161,246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,133,000 after acquiring an additional 21,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.97% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Block from $90.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Block from $100.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Block from $101.00 to $88.00 in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Sunday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.15.
Block Stock Performance
Block (NYSE:SQ – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Block had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 1.92%. Equities analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.64, for a total value of $1,927,370.16. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 413,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,880,342.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Alyssa Henry sold 30,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.64, for a total transaction of $1,927,370.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 413,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,880,342.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.61, for a total value of $37,494.69. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 74,458 shares in the company, valued at $4,438,441.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 151,625 shares of company stock valued at $9,479,323 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.79% 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.
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