Diversify Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 15,931 Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,931 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Block by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,697 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new stake in Block in the 4th quarter valued at $256,000. BNC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Block during the fourth quarter worth $1,778,000. Udine Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Block in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $953,000. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Block by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 8,832 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of Block stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at $7,103,280. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chrysty Esperanza sold 2,964 shares of the company’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 $237,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 88,607 shares in the company, valued at $7,088,560. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,981 shares of company stock worth $2,681,185. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SQ. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Block from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Block from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Block from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Block presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.68.

Block Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $87.00 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $89.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.82. The stock 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 current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 2.07. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.00 and a 1-year high of $99.26.

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.