Curbstone Financial Management Corp Grows Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 13.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,428 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.6 %

BX opened at $151.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.59 and a twelve month high of $161.25. The company has a market cap of $108.08 billion, a PE ratio of 53.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $142.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.15.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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 firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.17.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Blackstone

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.