Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Sells 2,758 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lowered its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 47.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,027 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,758 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Block by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,511,250 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,088,122,000 after purchasing an additional 318,549 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Block by 4.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,107,712,000 after acquiring an additional 582,826 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Block by 45.7% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $650,396,000 after acquiring an additional 3,163,975 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Block by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Block by 17.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 326,444 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SQ shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value 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 $17,125,895.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $72.39 on Wednesday. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.15 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.57 billion, a PE ratio of 56.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.48.

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.