Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Buys Shares of 3,540 Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,540 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in Block by 85.3% in the third quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Block by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Block by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Block during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 70.44% of the company’s stock.

Block Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SQ opened at $87.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.98. Block, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.00 and a 52 week high of $99.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.92, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Block from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Block from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Block from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Block from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Block in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.68.

Insider Activity at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 88,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,103,280. This represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amrita Ahuja sold 1,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $129,953.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 242,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,955,057.48. This represents a 0.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,981 shares of company stock valued at $2,681,185. Insiders own 10.49% of the company’s stock.

Block 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.