Kovack Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,286 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Block were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Block by 53.9% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,947 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Block by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,482 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 3,552 shares during the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new position in shares of Block in the 1st quarter worth approximately $429,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Block by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 775,835 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,512,000 after acquiring an additional 106,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Block during the first quarter valued at approximately $362,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Up 1.1 %

SQ stock opened at $84.30 on Friday. Block, Inc. has a one year low of $55.00 and a one year high of $90.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.48 and its 200 day moving average is $67.33. The firm has a market cap of $51.90 billion, a PE ratio of 47.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SQ. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Block in a report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Block from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.30.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $237,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,088,560. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 88,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,678 shares of company stock worth $1,924,112 in the last ninety days. 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.