Invenomic Capital Management LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Invenomic Capital Management LP cut its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 6.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 68,316 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,601 shares during the quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP’s holdings in Block were worth $4,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Block by 194.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,642 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,851,000 after buying an additional 69,146 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Block by 272.5% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,680 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Block by 8.8% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,772 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Block by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,973 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE SQ opened at $93.21 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $77.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.00. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $95.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company has a market capitalization of $57.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on SQ shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Block in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,605,124.74. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,053 shares of company stock worth $2,393,972 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% 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.