Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 9,702 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 29.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,702 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $172.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $147.01 and a 200 day moving average of $133.22. 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 company has a market capitalization of $123.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.90, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $175.94.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 28th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 115.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.41.

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.