Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Trims Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,022 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 11,699 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Corp grew its position in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at $7,103,280. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,088,560. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock opened at $87.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $53.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.88, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $89.61 and its 200 day moving average is $74.68. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.00 and a twelve month high of $99.26.

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.