Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Grows Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,890 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Block by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 616 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. WP Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 5,381 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Block by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Block by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 57,232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,427,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,318.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585. Insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $69.45 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.82 and a 200 day moving average of $67.83. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a return on equity of 2.07% and a net margin of 2.18%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Block from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.42.

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.