Block (NYSE:SQ) Given New $80.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $71.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the technology company's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.28% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on SQ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.56.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded down $0.70 on Friday, reaching $74.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,825,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,031,937. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.03. Block has a 52-week low of $50.86 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a market cap of $45.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.26, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 2.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total value of $30,940.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,715,608.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the business'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 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total value of $30,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,715,608.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,214 shares of company stock valued at $1,637,932. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SQ. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Block during the second quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

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.