Citigroup Boosts Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target to $90.00

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Block from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a neutral rating on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Block from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $87.55.

Block Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:SQ opened at $71.14 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.73. Block has a 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $87.52. The firm has a market cap of $43.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.39, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $165,958.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,972,782.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585 in the last 90 days. 10.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Block during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Block by 843.2% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Block during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

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.