Wealth Effects LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Wealth Effects LLC decreased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,981 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for approximately 1.3% of Wealth Effects LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Wealth Effects LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $172.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,486,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,443,025. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $147.01 and its 200-day moving average is $133.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.59 and a 1 year high of $175.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. Barclays lifted their price target on Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.38.

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.