Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 25.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,737 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,182 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in Block by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Block by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $87.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $89.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.98. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $53.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,103,280. The trade was a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at $8,097,325. The trade was a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185 over the last quarter. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SQ. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James upgraded Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Block from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.68.

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.