Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Makes New $17.60 Million Investment in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 227,477 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $17,595,000. Block makes up 0.9% of Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Block by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,915,658 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,545,367,000 after buying an additional 585,801 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position in Block by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 11,887,628 shares of the technology company's stock worth $919,508,000 after buying an additional 1,000,514 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Block by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 10,377,973 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $802,736,000 after purchasing an additional 75,161 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Block by 3,525.7% during the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 5,935,002 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $459,072,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bares Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Block by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,399,425 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $194,719,000 after purchasing an additional 11,376 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:SQ traded down $0.83 on Friday, reaching $69.47. 28,948,341 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,617,495. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 2.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.63 and a 200-day moving average of $68.33. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.07%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,796,849.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,796,849.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total value of $328,762.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,231,257.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SQ has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Block from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.42.

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.