Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Bought by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 3,525.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,935,002 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 5,771,310 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 0.97% of Block worth $459,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 89.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 67,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value of $42,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value of $42,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research raised Block from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Block from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.72.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded up $1.59 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.94. 5,472,108 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,497,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The company has a market cap of $49.22 billion, a PE ratio of 453.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 2.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.52 and a 200 day moving average of $64.63.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.03 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.