Prana Capital Management LP Grows Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Prana Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 151.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 72,915 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,887 shares during the quarter. Prana Capital Management LP’s holdings in Block were worth $4,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Block by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,688 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Block by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 7,744 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Block by 6.3% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Block by 14.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Trading Up 0.5 %

SQ stock opened at $93.21 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.00 and a 52-week high of $95.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.00. The firm has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.36, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

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