Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Makes New Investment in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 34,295 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,915,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Block by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,864 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,283,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Block by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,637 shares of the technology company's stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Block during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,917,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Block by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 43,167 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,727,000 after acquiring an additional 2,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,129,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE SQ traded down $4.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.66. The stock had a trading volume of 8,213,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,297,611. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $51.23 billion, a PE ratio of 46.44, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Block from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.77.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total transaction of $129,953.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,955,057.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185 in the last quarter. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.