Bridgewater Associates LP Grows Stock Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 2,156.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 395,697 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 378,157 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Block were worth $26,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Block by 192.5% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 58,873 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,952,000 after buying an additional 38,748 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Block by 103.4% in the 3rd quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 33,447 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,245,000 after acquiring an additional 17,002 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Block during the third quarter valued at $151,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Block by 6.7% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 13,850 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the third quarter worth about $115,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

Shares of SQ opened at $88.77 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.47. The stock has a market cap of $55.02 billion, a PE ratio of 49.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.48. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $94.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SQ shares. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Block in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Block from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. New Street Research began coverage on shares of Block in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Block from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Block from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.46.

Insider Activity

In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 8,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.18, for a total value of $759,347.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 563,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,415,854.92. The trade was a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $33,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 90,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,060,820. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,053 shares of company stock valued at $2,393,972. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Block

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.