Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Positive Forecast for Block (NYSE:SQ) Stock Price

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price objective raised by Sanford C. Bernstein from $90.00 to $120.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the technology company’s stock.

SQ has been the topic of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.21.

Block Stock Up 4.8 %

SQ stock opened at $92.77 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.85. Block has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $95.95. The company has a market cap of $57.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.12, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.48.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $609,015.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 246,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,580,192.81. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Block by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Block by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,893 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 7.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 52,412 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,518,000 after buying an additional 3,639 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,833 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Block by 15.8% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.