United Advisor Group LLC Takes Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 25,899 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,739,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SQ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Block by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,511,250 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,088,122,000 after buying an additional 318,549 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Block by 4.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,107,712,000 after acquiring an additional 582,826 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake 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 valued at $650,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163,975 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 13.9% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 valued at $139,143,000 after purchasing an additional 326,444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Block in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.79.

Block Price Performance

SQ stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.39. The company had a trading volume of 5,472,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,890,648. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.15 and a 200 day moving average of $66.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.48. 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 fifty-two week low of $48.15 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 580,086 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,742,652.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Block Company 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.