Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Bought by Creative Planning

Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,268 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $28,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $217,000. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 144,410 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $18,899,000 after purchasing an additional 63,131 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,142,643 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $149,595,000 after purchasing an additional 15,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $154.94 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.47. 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 $110.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.75, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $161.25.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price 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 report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.