Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Purchased by Lone Pine Capital LLC

Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 13.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,670,523 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the quarter. Block comprises 4.0% of Lone Pine Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Lone Pine Capital LLC owned about 1.25% of Block worth $494,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SQ shares. New Street Research began coverage on Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the insider now directly owns 590,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,027,285.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 471 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 $30,318.27. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,977,784.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,889 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 valued at $1,833,962 over the last three months. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Block Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of Block stock traded down $2.30 on Wednesday, hitting $65.24. 5,767,357 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,327,045. The stock has a market cap of $40.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.73, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.49. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $64.07 and its 200 day moving average is $68.80. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $87.52.

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

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.