Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 15,825 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,630,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 12,192.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 7,340,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $908,797,000 after acquiring an additional 7,281,128 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 7.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 36,285,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,766,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546,886 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $290,514,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 19,048.1% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,883,409 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $247,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873,573 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Blackstone by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,262,972 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,442,227,000 after buying an additional 1,290,324 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $151.92. The stock had a trading volume of 2,073,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,449,274. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.68, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $142.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.34. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $161.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced 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 company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $56,567,311.64. This trade represents 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, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.17.

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.