Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 750 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 174,650 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $21,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX stock opened at $158.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.00 billion, a PE ratio of 55.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $139.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.41. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.59 and a fifty-two week high of $161.25.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Blackstone’s revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 115.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.78.

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.