Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Buys 15,500 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,588 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 15,500 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Block were worth $6,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SQ. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Block by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company's stock worth $650,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163,975 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter worth about $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Block by 770.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company's stock worth $116,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,849 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 13.9% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Block by 76.7% during the second quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $118,103,000 after buying an additional 795,000 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $272,175.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 85,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,097,325. This represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,918 shares of company stock valued at $2,666,147 in the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. BNP Paribas cut Block from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $88.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Block has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.75.

Block Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE SQ traded down $2.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $91.96. 8,344,740 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,272,736. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The company's fifty day moving average is $81.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.33. The stock has a market cap of $57.00 billion, a PE ratio of 53.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.50. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $99.26.

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.