SRN Advisors LLC Acquires 5,248 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

SRN Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,716 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,248 shares during the quarter. Block accounts for 1.4% of SRN Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Block by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,511,250 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,088,122,000 after acquiring an additional 318,549 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Block by 4.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,107,712,000 after purchasing an additional 582,826 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in Block by 45.7% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $650,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163,975 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in Block by 13.9% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the period. Finally, Bares Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,251 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $347,089,000 after buying an additional 87,826 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,147 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.57, for a total value of $76,355.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 271,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,066,698.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total value of $90,968.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at $5,885,112. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.57, for a total value of $76,355.79. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 271,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,066,698.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,542 shares of company stock valued at $1,343,635 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SQ. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.34.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of SQ stock 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. The firm has a market cap of $40.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.25.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Block’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share 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.