Aviance Capital Partners LLC Increases Stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 20,077 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,504 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $1,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SQ. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Block during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Block during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Block during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $90.84 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $71.53 and a 200-day moving average of $67.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.03, 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 $91.83.

Insider Activity at Block

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $90,968.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,885,112. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 6,661 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $430,966.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 264,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,125,895.90. This trade represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,678 shares of company stock valued at $1,924,112. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SQ shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. New Street Research assumed coverage on Block in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Block has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.30.

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.