Avanza Fonder AB Invests $2.41 Million in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 28,408 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,414,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in Block by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company's stock worth $686,948,000 after purchasing an additional 147,873 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,690,075 shares of the technology company's stock worth $581,923,000 after acquiring an additional 133,002 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $494,672,000 after acquiring an additional 934,588 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Block by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,202,388 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $147,846,000 after acquiring an additional 45,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Block by 17.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,733 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $139,143,000 after purchasing an additional 326,444 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE SQ traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $87.00. 5,788,892 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,438,821. The firm has a market cap of $53.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.88, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $99.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 2,836 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.38, for a total transaction of $253,481.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,469,231.62. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,088,560. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised Block from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Block from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.68.

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.