BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Reduces Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lessened its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 92,871 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 13,454 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Block were worth $6,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp increased its stake in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Block during the second quarter worth $44,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Block by 85.3% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 741 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut Block from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.21.

Insider Activity at Block

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total transaction of $123,232.44. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,605,124.74. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock worth $2,393,972 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Performance

SQ stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.21. The company had a trading volume of 8,246,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,248,006. The firm has a market cap of $57.77 billion, a PE ratio of 52.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 2.50. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $95.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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.