Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,202,388 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 45,472 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.36% of Block worth $147,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Block by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $110,891,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in Block by 13.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $72,709,000 after acquiring an additional 128,832 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 147,873 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 13.9% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Block by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 541,204 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,969,000 after purchasing an additional 14,163 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

NYSE:SQ traded down $1.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $90.75. 11,043,507 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,239,121. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $56.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 2.48. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.00 and a 1 year high of $94.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total value of $388,920.55. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at $16,742,652.88. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,283 shares of company stock worth $862,773. Insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SQ. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.46.

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.