Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Decreased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 17,183 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $17,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.78.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the 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 $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of BX stock opened at $158.12 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $139.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.41. The stock has a market cap of $113.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $161.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 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.