Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 32.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,400 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Block by 89.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Block in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Block by 38.4% during 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 purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Up 0.9 %

Block stock opened at $71.08 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $43.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 414.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.38. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $87.52.

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

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 4,170 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.84, for a total transaction of $328,762.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,231,257.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175. 10.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SQ shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up from $86.00) on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Block from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.22.

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.