Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Receives $85.67 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirty-four analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.67.

A number of brokerages recently commented on SQ. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total transaction of $328,762.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 193,192 shares in the company, valued at $15,231,257.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $42,180.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total transaction of $328,762.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,231,257.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SQ. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in Block by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in shares of Block by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Block by 25.4% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Trading Up 5.0 %

SQ traded up $3.61 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,916,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,979,615. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $76.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 414.23, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Block has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. Analysts anticipate that Block will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

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.