Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Purchased by D1 Capital Partners L.P.

D1 Capital Partners L.P. raised its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 76.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 795,000 shares during the period. Block accounts for about 2.0% of D1 Capital Partners L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. D1 Capital Partners L.P. owned 0.30% of Block worth $118,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in Block by 1.3% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its position in Block by 7.2% during the first quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Block by 25.4% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, CAP Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SQ. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,443,360. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,443,360. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $430,966.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 264,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,125,895.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,179 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,962 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $67.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $41.63 billion, a PE ratio of 87.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.96. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. Block had a return on equity of 3.77% and a net margin of 3.47%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

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.