Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Purchases New Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. purchased a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 116,798 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,532,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Block during the first quarter worth $28,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of SQ opened at $65.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The firm has a market cap of $40.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.65, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 2.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.84 and its 200-day moving average is $68.25.

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

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total value of $30,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 92,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,715,608.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.57, for a total transaction of $76,355.79. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 271,394 shares in the company, valued at $18,066,698.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total value of $30,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,715,608.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,542 shares of company stock valued at $1,343,635. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SQ. William Blair raised Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. New Street Research initiated coverage on Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.34.

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.