Citigroup Raises Block (NYSE:SQ) Price Target to $90.00

Block (NYSE:SQ) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

SQ has been the subject of several other research reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Block from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Benchmark reiterated a buy rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Block from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Block from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $87.55.

Block Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE SQ opened at $73.20 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.78. The company has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57. Block has a 12 month low of $38.85 and a 12 month high of $87.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Block had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 2.07%. As a group, research analysts predict that Block will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $42,180.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $42,180.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 2,581 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $165,958.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 201,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,972,782.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 477,469 shares of company stock worth $34,963,585. 10.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Block

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Block by 843.2% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Block in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its position in Block by 67,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 676 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Block by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Block during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 70.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.