Sigma Planning Corp Sells 8,552 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 56.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,611 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,552 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Block were worth $511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Block by 10.4% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,222,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,112,000 after purchasing an additional 115,132 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in shares of Block by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 261,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Block during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Block by 16.1% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,373,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,807,000 after acquiring an additional 190,400 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP bought a new stake in Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $359,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $72.80 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $77.21 and its 200 day moving average is $66.90. Block, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.85 and a 12-month high of $87.52. The stock has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 435.47, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value of $42,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total transaction of $42,375.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 4,514 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.41, for a total transaction of $353,942.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 477,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,424,308.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock valued at $27,284,175. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SQ. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Monday. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Block in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.67.

About Block

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.