Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Purchases New Shares in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 27,601 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,135,000. Block accounts for 0.8% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 6,508 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Block by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 8,998 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $769,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Block during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Block by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the technology company's stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related 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 value of $42,180.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 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 sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175. 10.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Block Stock Down 3.8 %

NYSE:SQ traded down $3.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.99. 6,190,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,655,994. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.85 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.24 and a 200 day moving average of $65.20. The stock has a market cap of $47.40 billion, a PE ratio of 470.94, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 2.55.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $5.77 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Block from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.41.

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.