UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $161.78 Million Stock Holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC reduced its holdings in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,409,979 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 12,440 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $161,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Block by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,891,000 after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Block by 13.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,709,000 after acquiring an additional 128,832 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in shares of Block by 1.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its position in Block by 13.9% during the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 7,670,523 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $494,672,000 after acquiring an additional 934,588 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Block by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 541,204 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,969,000 after purchasing an additional 14,163 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

SQ opened at $88.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.72. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $55.00 and a one year high of $94.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 2.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SQ shares. New Street Research started coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Block in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Block from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,060,820. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $609,015.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 246,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,580,192.81. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock worth $2,393,972. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

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.