Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,082 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BX. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.94.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

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

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $142.36 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.59 and a 52 week high of $145.16. The firm has a market cap of $101.74 billion, a PE ratio of 50.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

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.