Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Makes New $274,000 Investment in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,547 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SQ. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Block by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,222,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,112,000 after purchasing an additional 115,132 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in Block by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 261,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Block in the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Block by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,373,857 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,807,000 after purchasing an additional 190,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Block in the third quarter valued at approximately $359,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Block Price Performance

SQ stock opened at $72.25 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $44.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 442.41, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 2.55. Block, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.85 and a fifty-two week high of $87.52.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Block had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 0.63%. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SQ shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Block from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Block in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Block from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Block in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Block from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Block currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Block

In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total transaction of $8,364,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 405,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of Block stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $165,958.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,754 shares in the company, valued at $12,972,782.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 363,801 shares of company stock worth $27,284,175 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.79% 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.