AXS Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

AXS Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 28.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,929 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,388 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Block by 77,283.6% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 11,698,072 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $778,741,000 after buying an additional 11,682,955 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $353,954,000. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Block by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 8,205,524 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $551,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,427 shares during the period. Scge Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Block during the first quarter valued at approximately $62,506,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Block by 26.6% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,745,890 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $257,155,000 after purchasing an additional 786,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.17% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ traded up $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.19. The stock had a trading volume of 12,038,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,994,916. The company has a market capitalization of $35.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -123.81 and a beta of 2.34. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $89.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.04 and a 200-day moving average of $58.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.49, for a total value of $35,532.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 72,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,122,696.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Roelof Botha bought 23,433 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.97 per share, for a total transaction of $1,194,380.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 540,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,556,726.62. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.49, for a total value of $35,532.21. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 72,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,122,696.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 534,234 shares of company stock worth $27,185,614 and sold 21,222 shares worth $1,006,326. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SQ shares. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Block from $85.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Block from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. Stephens lowered their price target on Block from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.84.

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.