Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys 40,774 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 296,947 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,774 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Block were worth $19,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SQ. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 1st quarter worth $480,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Block by 129.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 86,265 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,296,000 after purchasing an additional 48,649 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Block by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 38,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of Block by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 19,453 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,645,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Block by 55.9% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 16,124 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after buying an additional 5,783 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Down 0.4 %

Block stock opened at $72.39 on Wednesday. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $48.15 and a one year high of $87.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.26 and a 200 day moving average of $66.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market cap of $44.57 billion, a PE ratio of 56.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. William Blair upgraded shares of Block to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Block from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $430,966.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 264,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,125,895.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total transaction of $539,404.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,572,170.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,214 shares of company stock worth $1,637,932 in the last three months. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.