Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Decreases Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 271,289 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 15,190 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Block were worth $17,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Block by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,780 shares of the technology company's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Block by 1,061.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,413,000 after buying an additional 601,020 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Block by 2,189.9% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 47,974 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,094,000 after acquiring an additional 45,879 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in Block by 179.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 108,697 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,010,000 after acquiring an additional 69,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Block by 189.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,002 shares of the technology company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 4,587 shares during the period. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Block from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Macquarie restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 92,048 shares in the company, valued at $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,500 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,443,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.37, for a total transaction of $30,318.27. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,977,784.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,179 shares of company stock worth $1,833,962. 10.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Block Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded down $1.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.46. The stock had a trading volume of 7,744,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,368,506. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $41.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.61, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.01. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. The company 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 for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.