Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $14.59 Million Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 217,390 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $14,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in Block by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 10,085,229 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $650,396,000 after buying an additional 3,163,975 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Block by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after purchasing an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Block by 76.7% in the 2nd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,103,000 after buying an additional 795,000 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Block by 1,061.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,413,000 after buying an additional 601,020 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Block currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.18.

Block Stock Performance

NYSE:SQ opened at $92.43 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.16 and its 200 day moving average is $67.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.29 billion, a PE ratio of 51.93, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.48. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $93.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 value of $33,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,283 shares of company stock valued at $862,773. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Block Company 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.