Brighton Jones LLC Grows Stock Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 189.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,002 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,587 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Block in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Block in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Block during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Block during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.34.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock opened at $67.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $430,966.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 264,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,125,895.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of Block 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,866 shares in the company, valued at $5,977,784.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $430,966.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 264,697 shares in the company, valued at $17,125,895.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Block 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.