Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Bought by Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,834 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Block were worth $3,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in Block by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,567 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the fourth quarter worth approximately $349,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $641,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its holdings in Block by 1,122.4% in the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 59,900 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Block during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $30,318.27. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,866 shares in the company, valued at $5,977,784.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Roelof Botha bought 434,405 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.55 per share, with a total value of $25,000,007.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 434,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,000,007.75. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $30,318.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,977,784.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Block Price Performance

Shares of SQ stock opened at $68.64 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.11. The firm has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. Block had a return on equity of 3.77% and a net margin of 3.47%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. William Blair raised Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.34.

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.