Deepwater Asset Management LLC Has $14.05 Million Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Deepwater Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 217,916 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,727 shares during the period. Block makes up approximately 5.1% of Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Deepwater Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $14,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SQ. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of Block by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $650,396,000 after buying an additional 3,163,975 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 6,606,269 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $510,995,000 after acquiring an additional 2,720,123 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Block by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,192,701 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,799,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,043 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Capital Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Block by 244.1% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Capital Management LLP now owns 1,706,691 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $132,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in Block during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,533,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of SQ stock opened at $67.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.01. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.63 billion, a PE ratio of 87.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.49.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 92,866 shares in the company, valued at $5,977,784.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,977,784.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,443,360. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,179 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,962. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. William Blair raised Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.34.

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.