CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Grows Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 36.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,433 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,807 shares during the quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Block were worth $3,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Block during the second quarter worth about $443,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Block by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,067 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,159,000 after buying an additional 13,649 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Block by 54.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,168 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Block by 17.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,733 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $139,143,000 after acquiring an additional 326,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Block by 37.6% in the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 4,833 shares of the technology company's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James upgraded shares of Block from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Block from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.68.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,103,280. The trade was a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock valued at $2,681,185 over the last quarter. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Block Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $86.38. The stock had a trading volume of 6,122,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,820,234. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The firm's 50 day moving average is $89.14 and its 200-day moving average is $74.43. 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 quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

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.