Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Position Decreased by Account Management LLC

Account Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,031 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,650 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up about 12.1% of Account Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Account Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 30.9% in the 2nd quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,826 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 42,240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,229,000 after buying an additional 2,217 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 108,667 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,453,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 1.9% in the second quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 139,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $17,285,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 51.9% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,824 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $137.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $134.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.59 and a 52-week high of $145.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.50.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The business’s revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total transaction of $14,323,104.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total transaction of $14,323,104.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.