M&T Bank Corp Lowers Position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,975 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,570 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Block were worth $2,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Block by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,222,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $54,112,000 after buying an additional 115,132 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 4th quarter valued at $213,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Block by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,373,857 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,807,000 after purchasing an additional 190,400 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Block during the 3rd quarter valued at $359,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Block by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,860 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 70.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SQ opened at $71.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Block, Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.85 and a 1-year high of $87.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.49 and its 200 day moving average is $68.73.

Block (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Block had a return on equity of 2.07% and a net margin of 2.18%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Block, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total transaction of $42,180.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 68,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,318.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Block news, insider Brian Grassadonia sold 127,800 shares of Block stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.45, for a total value of $8,364,510.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 405,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,521,910.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 656 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 68,823 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,318.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 477,469 shares of company stock valued at $34,963,585. Corporate insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SQ shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Block from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.55.

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.