UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Reduces Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,409,979 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,440 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.39% of Block worth $161,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SQ. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,842,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Block by 194.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,642 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,851,000 after buying an additional 69,146 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 100.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 32,843 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,778,000 after buying an additional 16,492 shares during the period. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of Block by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 88,960 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,737,000 after buying an additional 5,336 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,781 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $162,836.83. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 86,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,863,894.30. This trade represents a 2.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,914 shares in the company, valued at $37,605,124.74. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut Block from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. BNP Paribas cut Block from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Block has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.46.

Block Trading Down 0.3 %

SQ traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $88.55. 4,527,358 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,103,950. The firm's fifty day moving average is $76.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.72. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $94.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $54.88 billion, a PE ratio of 49.75, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 2.48.

About Block

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.