Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Means Investment CO. Inc.

Means Investment CO. Inc. lowered its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,034 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,262,972 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,442,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290,324 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 7.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 36,285,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,766,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546,886 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 12,192.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 7,340,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $908,797,000 after buying an additional 7,281,128 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,266,207 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $775,758,000 after buying an additional 141,616 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,670,645 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $613,581,000 after acquiring an additional 21,450 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $172.36 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $175.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.90, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 28th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BX. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.41.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of Blackstone 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 owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company 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.