Block (NYSE:SQ) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Robert W. Baird

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its target price upped by Robert W. Baird from $98.00 to $100.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. William Blair reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $87.55.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $73.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $77.61 and its 200-day moving average is $68.53. The company has a market cap of $45.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.53, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Block has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Block had a return on equity of 2.07% and a net margin of 2.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Block will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $7,679,410.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $165,958.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,796,849.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Block by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc raised its holdings in Block by 7.2% in the first quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Block by 25.4% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Block by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, CAP Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.