Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Invests $256,000 in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. bought a new position in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,014 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Block by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,651,886 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,891,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Block by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 253,787 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,037,000 after acquiring an additional 14,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in Block by 13.9% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of SQ stock opened at $87.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.75. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.00 and a fifty-two week high of $99.26. The company has a market capitalization of $53.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.88, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SQ shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Block from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Macquarie lifted their target price on Block from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lowered Block from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $94.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,103,280. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $272,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,325. The trade was a 3.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,981 shares of company stock valued at $2,681,185 over the last quarter. 10.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.