Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Raises Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,893 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,728 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Block were worth $664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in Block by 1.5% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,233,102 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $686,948,000 after acquiring an additional 147,873 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Block by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,690,075 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $581,923,000 after purchasing an additional 133,002 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Block by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after buying an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Block by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,202,388 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $147,846,000 after buying an additional 45,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Block by 17.8% during 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 buying an additional 326,444 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SQ. New Street Research assumed coverage on Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.75.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,060,820. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,918 shares of company stock valued at $2,666,147 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

NYSE SQ opened at $91.98 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The stock has a market cap of $57.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.67, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.57.

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.