Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Takes $882,000 Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,401 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SQ. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in Block by 67,500.0% during the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Block by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, CNB Bank increased its stake in Block by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,046 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Up 2.3 %

Block stock traded up $1.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.48. The company had a trading volume of 4,649,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,455,119. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 438.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 2.55. 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's fifty day moving average is $77.39 and its 200-day moving average is $67.40. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SQ shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.67.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, 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 transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175 in the last 90 days. 10.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.