Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Receives $98.10 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-two analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and twenty-six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.10.

Several research firms recently commented on SQ. Barclays boosted their price target on Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Block in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $272,175.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. This trade represents a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,955,057.48. This trade represents a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,247 shares of company stock worth $832,865. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,200 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Block by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,083,113 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $72,709,000 after acquiring an additional 128,832 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Block in the 4th quarter worth about $1,315,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in shares of Block by 1.5% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Perpetual Ltd bought a new stake in Block in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,779,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $53.90 billion, a PE ratio of 48.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.13. Block has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $99.26.

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.