Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases New Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 23,587 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,583,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SQ. SouthState Corp increased its position in Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 64.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Block during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the third quarter valued at $46,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Stock Performance

SQ opened at $98.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.21. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.00 and a 1 year high of $98.95. The stock has a market cap of $61.33 billion, a PE ratio of 55.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 2.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. New Street Research started coverage on Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,605,124.74. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,918 shares of company stock worth $2,666,147 over the last three months. Company 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.