Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 238.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,710 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,140 shares during the period. Block accounts for about 1.4% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Block were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Block by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,511,250 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,088,122,000 after purchasing an additional 318,549 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Block by 4.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,096,614 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,107,712,000 after acquiring an additional 582,826 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in Block by 1.5% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $686,948,000 after acquiring an additional 147,873 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 13.9% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $494,672,000 after acquiring an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Block by 17.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,143,000 after acquiring an additional 326,444 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.30.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 5,935 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.53, for a total transaction of $388,920.55. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 255,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,742,652.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at $6,060,820. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,714 shares of company stock worth $1,606,992 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $88.69. The stock had a trading volume of 6,557,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,116,542. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.01, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 2.48. Block, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.82 and a twelve month high of $90.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.09.

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.