Edgestream Partners L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 37.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,833 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Block were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Block by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,143,000 after acquiring an additional 326,444 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 2.4% during the second quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,377 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 54.5% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,168 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Block by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 15,531 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Block by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,067 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $17,159,000 after buying an additional 13,649 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $121,594.93. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 590,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,027,285.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 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 value of $121,594.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 590,761 shares in the company, valued at $38,027,285.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the business’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,179 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,962 in the last 90 days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Block Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $67.82 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $64.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a market cap of $41.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SQ. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.34.

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.