Scientech Research LLC Invests $1.36 Million in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 11,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,364,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 254,099 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,267,000 after acquiring an additional 20,830 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 431,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,692 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 2,072.0% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 36,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,802,000 after buying an additional 34,872 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $1,073,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares in the company, 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.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $154.95 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.59 and a fifty-two week high of $161.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.75, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.18.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Blackstone’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 business earned $0.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.90%.

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.