Kathmere Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,967 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SQ. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter worth about $114,121,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 worth $116,719,000 after buying 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 valued at $494,672,000 after acquiring an additional 934,588 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Block by 76.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 795,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $42,413,000 after acquiring an additional 601,020 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SQ shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded shares of 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 Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In other Block news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $237,120.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185 over the last three months. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $86.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.25 billion, a PE ratio of 48.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $99.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

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.