Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Stake Cut by Bank of New Hampshire

Bank of New Hampshire lessened its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 76.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,690 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 5,595 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Block were worth $144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Block by 770.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,738,708 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538,849 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. boosted its position in Block by 76.7% during the second quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,831,342 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $118,103,000 after purchasing an additional 795,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Block by 1,061.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 657,667 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,413,000 after purchasing an additional 601,020 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Block from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Block from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.77.

Block Stock Down 4.7 %

SQ opened at $87.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 2.51. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.65. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $99.26.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at $7,088,560. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,955,057.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,981 shares of company stock valued at $2,681,185. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

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.