Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) CAO Sells $90,968.20 in Stock

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $90,968.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,885,112. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ajmere Dale also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 13th, Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total value of $30,940.00.
• On Tuesday, July 2nd, Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of Block stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $30,318.27.

Block Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of SQ stock traded up $1.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,613,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,718,805. The company has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.52. Block, Inc. 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 current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $63.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.86.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Block from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Block by 843.2% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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