Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 192.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,873 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 38,748 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $3,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Block by 0.5% during 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 grew its stake in shares of Block by 13.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 13.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Block by 2.7% in the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $88.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 2.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.74. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $94.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,781 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.43, for a total transaction of $162,836.83. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 86,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,863,894.30. This trade represents a 2.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 1,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.41, for a total value of $123,232.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 574,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,605,124.74. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a report on Monday, October 21st. New Street Research started coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.46.

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.