Block (NYSE:SQ) Trading 0.6% Higher

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $66.58 and last traded at $65.73. 1,355,007 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 8,673,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.59.

Block Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.87. The firm has a market cap of $40.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.13, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.52.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Block by 125.6% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,955 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,234,000 after buying an additional 8,882 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 6,439 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Block by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 16,720 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,293,000 after acquiring an additional 1,897 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.