Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 15.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 296,947 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,774 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Block were worth $19,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in shares of Block by 45.7% in the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company's stock worth $650,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163,975 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its position in Block by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Block by 76.7% in the second quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $118,103,000 after acquiring an additional 795,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Block by 1,061.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,413,000 after acquiring an additional 601,020 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Block by 4.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,107,712,000 after acquiring an additional 582,826 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SQ shares. New Street Research started coverage on shares of Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of Block to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total value of $388,920.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,742,652.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,572,170.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $388,920.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,742,652.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,214 shares of company stock valued at $1,637,932. 10.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Block Trading Up 6.9 %

SQ traded up $5.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,609,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,889,468. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.56, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.48. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.71 and a twelve month high of $87.52. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $68.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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.