Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Purchased by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 90.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,142 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Block were worth $88,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in Block by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC now owns 5,401 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Block by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 616 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 4,085 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Price Performance

Shares of SQ opened at $70.43 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The stock has a market cap of $43.36 billion, a PE ratio of 423.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.04.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. The firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total transaction of $328,762.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 193,192 shares in the company, valued at $15,231,257.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175. Insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Block from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.22.

About Block

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.