Harmony Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Harmony Asset Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,248 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Certified Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 7.4% during the second quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 2,207 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $1,561,000. Edge Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.7% during the second quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 27,053 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 11.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 54,159 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,705,000 after purchasing an additional 5,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $629,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $158.12 on Monday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.59 and a twelve month high of $161.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.87, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.78.

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.