Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 8,510 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 55.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,809 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,510 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 89.6% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 67,500.0% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Block in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 38.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter worth about $44,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $70.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 423.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 2.55. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.85 and a 52 week high of $87.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.75 and a 200 day moving average of $66.04.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Block, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $42,180.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 111,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.73, for a total transaction of $9,238,128.18. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 485,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,177,410.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Block from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.22.

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.