Somerset Group LLC Sells 370 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Somerset Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,316 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up about 2.6% of Somerset Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Somerset Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 36,215 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,741,000 after buying an additional 9,699 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Blackstone by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 367,841 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,158,000 after purchasing an additional 28,856 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 254,099 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,267,000 after buying an additional 20,830 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 431,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,455,000 after acquiring an additional 7,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 2,072.0% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 36,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,802,000 after acquiring an additional 34,872 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

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

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $154.93 on Thursday. 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 $110.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.75, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $138.34 and a 200 day moving average of $128.90. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $157.76.

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 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.78.

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.