International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 144,799 Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 144,799 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $112,000,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SQ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Block by 1.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,915,658 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,545,367,000 after acquiring an additional 585,801 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position in Block by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 11,887,628 shares of the technology company's stock worth $919,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,514 shares in the last quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Block by 0.3% during the third quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,399,425 shares of the technology company's stock worth $194,719,000 after acquiring an additional 11,376 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in Block during the third quarter worth $172,001,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Block by 2.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,065,636 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $135,685,000 after purchasing an additional 59,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ traded down $0.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.45. 28,911,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,185,580. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $77.82 and a 200-day moving average of $67.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 393.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 2.57.

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. Analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SQ has been the topic of several research reports. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Block from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total transaction of $328,762.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 193,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,231,257.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. Insiders have sold 477,469 shares of company stock valued at $34,963,585 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.79% of the company's stock.

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.