Block (NYSE:SQ) Trading 1% Higher

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $66.33 and last traded at $66.20. Approximately 955,379 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 8,644,276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SQ. Citigroup increased their price target on Block from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Monday, June 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.52.

Block Stock Up 1.6 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $41.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.55, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.52. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $64.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.87.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,572,170.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,572,170.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.13, for a total value of $338,414.01. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 274,410 shares in the company, valued at $17,597,913.30. 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Block

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bares Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Block by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,487,251 shares of the technology company's stock worth $347,089,000 after purchasing an additional 87,826 shares during the last quarter. Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 4th quarter valued at about $157,021,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Block by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,192,701 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,799,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,277,043 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS lifted its position in Block by 8.3% during the first quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 8,641 shares of the technology company's stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter worth about $1,184,000. Institutional investors 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.