Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Stake Decreased by Avory & Company LLC

Avory & Company LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,029 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 11,656 shares during the quarter. Block comprises 11.0% of Avory & Company LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Avory & Company LLC's holdings in Block were worth $15,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Block by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,511,250 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,088,122,000 after purchasing an additional 318,549 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Block by 4.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,107,712,000 after purchasing an additional 582,826 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in shares of Block by 45.7% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company's stock worth $650,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163,975 shares in the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its position in shares of Block by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 8,982,862 shares of the technology company's stock worth $694,735,000 after purchasing an additional 71,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $528,996,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.17. 4,537,525 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,591,166. 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 stock has a market cap of $39.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.49. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $87.52. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $64.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.81.

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

Insider Transactions at Block

In other news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $430,966.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 264,697 shares in the company, valued at $17,125,895.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 590,761 shares in the company, valued at $38,027,285.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $430,966.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 264,697 shares in the company, valued at $17,125,895.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Macquarie reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.52.

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.