Platform Technology Partners Purchases 787 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Platform Technology Partners raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,981 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises approximately 0.9% of Platform Technology Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Platform Technology Partners’ holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Up 3.2 %

Blackstone stock opened at $183.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $132.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.94, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.93 and a 12 month high of $183.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.60.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a $0.86 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.21%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.63.

Blackstone Profile

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.