Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Bought by Fortis Capital Advisors LLC

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 190.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,375 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,111 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Block were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,511,250 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,088,122,000 after acquiring an additional 318,549 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 582,826 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted 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 buying an additional 3,163,975 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its stake in shares of Block by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 8,982,862 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $694,735,000 after buying an additional 71,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the 4th quarter valued at $528,996,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Performance

Block stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.07. 4,040,687 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,564,660. 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 $39.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.38, 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 $69.80.

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%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the insider now owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Roelof Botha purchased 434,405 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $57.55 per share, with a total value of $25,000,007.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 434,405 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,007.75. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,179 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,962. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SQ. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Macquarie restated an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.52.

Block 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.