Blair William & Co. IL Trims Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,462 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 16,033 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Block were worth $13,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Block by 2.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 57,947 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the period. Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 6.8% in the second quarter. Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,739 shares of the technology company's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of Block by 37.6% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 4,833 shares of the technology company's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Block by 17.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,733 shares of the technology company's stock worth $139,143,000 after acquiring an additional 326,444 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,377 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, July 26th. New Street Research began coverage on Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Block from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.34.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total value of $121,594.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 590,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,027,285.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Roelof Botha acquired 434,405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.55 per share, for a total transaction of $25,000,007.75. Following the purchase, the director now owns 434,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,007.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ traded down $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.47. 7,742,177 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,368,506. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.49. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $64.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.05. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. Block had a return on equity of 3.77% and a net margin of 3.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

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.