Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 13,280 Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 13,280 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,129,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SQ. SouthState Corp increased its position in Block by 85.3% during the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Block by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Block by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Block during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at $57,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

Block stock opened at $92.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.11. Block, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.00 and a 12 month high of $99.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a PE ratio of 51.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at $7,103,280. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,599 shares of company stock worth $2,120,494 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Raymond James raised Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.94.

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.