Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) Shares Bought by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 63.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,416 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,130 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Block were worth $1,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SQ. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Block by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 616 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. WP Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 5,381 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Block by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Block by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 57,232 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,427,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Benchmark raised their target price on Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.67.

Block Price Performance

SQ opened at $74.50 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.85 and a 1 year high of $87.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.11. The stock has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 428.18, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 2.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a return on equity of 0.63% and a net margin of 0.04%. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Analysts forecast that Block, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.75, for a total value of $42,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,790,374.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175. Company insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

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.