Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Position Lifted by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,439 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,086 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Block were worth $2,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Corp grew its stake in Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Block during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Block in the third quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of Block stock opened at $91.96 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $99.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $57.00 billion, a PE ratio of 51.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 2.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SQ. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Block in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. The trade was a 3.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total value of $609,015.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 246,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,580,192.81. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,918 shares of company stock worth $2,666,147 in the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.