Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,372 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 64,211 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Block were worth $16,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Block by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 616 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the technology company's stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. WP Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 5,381 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Block by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 57,232 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,427,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SQ. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Block from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI restated an "in-line" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.67.

Block Stock Up 5.1 %

NYSE SQ traded up $3.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $70.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,603,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,962,267. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $77.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.82. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52. The company has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a PE ratio of 429.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.69 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 4,514 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total transaction of $353,942.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 477,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,424,308.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 4,514 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total value of $353,942.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 477,290 shares in the company, valued at $37,424,308.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value of $42,375.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Block 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.