Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Purchased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,373,857 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 190,400 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.23% of Block worth $60,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Block in the first quarter worth $31,000. Tobam increased its position in shares of Block by 885.7% in the second quarter. Tobam now owns 483 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Block by 1,571.4% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 585 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 89.6% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $93.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Wedbush raised Block from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Block from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Block in a research note on Friday, October 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.87.

Block Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of SQ stock opened at $66.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.58. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $83.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 3,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total value of $228,465.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,432,684. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 3,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total value of $228,465.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 209,200 shares in the company, valued at $15,432,684. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 630 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.51, for a total value of $36,861.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 71,504 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,183,699.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,302 shares of company stock worth $2,258,303 over the last three months. Insiders own 10.79% 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.

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