Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Position Increased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 914,360 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 14,410 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.15% of Block worth $70,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Block by 67,500.0% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block by 38.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter worth $44,000. CNB Bank raised its holdings in shares of Block by 40.2% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Block by 72.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 610 shares of the technology company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Block Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:SQ traded up $2.06 on Thursday, hitting $73.20. The stock had a trading volume of 4,858,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,056,493. 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 stock has a market cap of $45.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.06, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.78. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Equities research analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Block from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.55.

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.