Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Receives $87.34 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-one analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.34.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of Block to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

Block Price Performance

Shares of SQ traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.47. 7,742,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,368,506. Block has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year 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 50 day moving average of $64.24 and a 200-day moving average of $69.05. The stock has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.49.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Block's revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Block will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $121,594.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 590,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,027,285.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $121,594.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 590,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,027,285.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $30,318.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,977,784.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of Block by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 9,567 shares of the technology company's stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Block in the fourth quarter worth $349,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the fourth quarter worth $641,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Block by 1,122.4% in the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 59,900 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,633,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Block in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

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.