Block (NYSE:SQ) Upgraded by Raymond James to Outperform Rating

Raymond James upgraded shares of Block (NYSE:SQ) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $115.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

SQ has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.94.

Block Stock Up 6.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $92.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a PE ratio of 51.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. 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 has a 52-week low of $55.00 and a 52-week high of $99.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.20 and a 200 day moving average of $73.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,103,280. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total transaction of $759,347.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 563,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,415,854.92. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,599 shares of company stock valued at $2,120,494. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Block by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,688 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in Block by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 2.5% in the third quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,265 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 6.3% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Block by 14.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is 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.