Forsta AP Fonden Increases Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,900 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Block were worth $7,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Block by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,688 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,664,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 7.2% in the first quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 2,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Block by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. CAP Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Block by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Block by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,973 shares of the technology company's stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $388,920.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at $16,742,652.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $388,920.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at $16,742,652.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.88, for a total transaction of $30,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 92,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,715,608.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,214 shares of company stock valued at $1,637,932 over the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Block from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.79.

Block Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ traded up $1.89 during trading on Monday, reaching $74.50. 4,094,323 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,980,125. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.85 and a 52-week high of $87.52. The business's fifty day moving average is $67.38 and its 200-day moving average is $66.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.49.

Block (NYSE:SQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. Block had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.71 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.