BMO Capital Markets Trims Block (NYSE:SQ) Target Price to $92.00

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $93.00 to $92.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the technology company's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective indicates a potential upside of 40.16% from the company's current price.

SQ has been the subject of a number of other reports. New Street Research started coverage on Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.31.

Block Trading Up 0.9 %

Block stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $65.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,342,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,247,403. The stock's fifty day moving average is $63.99 and its 200 day moving average is $68.21. Block has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 2.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Block will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $33,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,060,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,060,820. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,042 shares of company stock worth $1,377,135. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SQ. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 1.3% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 10,618 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc raised its stake in shares of Block by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 25.4% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. CAP Partners LLC boosted its stake in Block by 3.5% during the first quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Block by 17.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. 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.