Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Invests $17.60 Million in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 227,477 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,595,000. Block comprises 0.9% of Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SQ. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Block by 0.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 276,975 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,259,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Block by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 83,911 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after acquiring an additional 7,507 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Block by 3.8% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 42,171 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 5.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 154,987 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,860,000 after acquiring an additional 7,412 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:SQ traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.47. 28,948,341 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,617,495. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 2.57. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $38.85 and a one year high of $87.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Block had a return on equity of 2.07% and a net margin of 2.18%. Sell-side analysts expect that Block, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SQ has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Block from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $7,679,410.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 603,861 shares in the company, valued at $40,796,849.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Block news, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $165,958.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 201,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 113,668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $7,679,410.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,796,849.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585. 10.79% of the stock is currently owned by 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.