Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases 246 Shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,934 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Block were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Block by 53.9% during the 1st 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% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,482 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,552 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL acquired a new stake in shares of Block during the 1st quarter valued at about $429,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Block by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 775,835 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,512,000 after buying an additional 106,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Block in the 1st quarter worth about $362,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SQ opened at $84.30 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.33. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $90.00. The stock has a market cap of $51.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SQ. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Block in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Block from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Block presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.30.

Insider Transactions at Block

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.77, for a total value of $539,404.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 580,086 shares in the company, valued at $37,572,170.22. This trade represents a 1.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,406 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.70, for a total transaction of $90,968.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,960 shares in the company, valued at $5,885,112. The trade was a 1.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,678 shares of company stock valued at $1,924,112 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.