Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Cuts Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,893 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,002 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Block by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,891,000 after acquiring an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,709,000 after purchasing an additional 128,832 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of Block by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $686,948,000 after purchasing an additional 147,873 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Block by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 253,787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,037,000 after buying an additional 14,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its position in Block by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of SQ opened at $82.45 on Wednesday. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.00 and a 12-month high of $99.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SQ. BNP Paribas lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,955,057.48. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,981 shares of company stock valued at $2,681,185 over the last quarter. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.