National Bank of Canada FI Increases Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,074 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,679 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Block were worth $3,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Block by 36.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,468 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 2,521 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Block by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 37,885 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 4,287 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 9,335 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Block by 2,230.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,167 shares of the technology company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boomfish Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Block by 8.3% in the second quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,111 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 1,009 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at $8,097,325. This trade represents a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,918 shares of company stock valued at $2,666,147 over the last 90 days. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Block from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas lowered Block from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.75.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE SQ traded down $2.13 on Friday, reaching $91.98. The stock had a trading volume of 8,351,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,272,736. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $81.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.50. The company has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.50. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

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.