Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 5,962 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,898 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,962 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Wealth Alliance grew its position in Blackstone by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 2,642 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 11.3% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,607 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,938 shares during the period. Abbot Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% during the second quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 26,333 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 25,241 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,125,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Up 3.1 %

BX stock opened at $159.66 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 52 week low of $88.59 and a 52 week high of $160.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.10 billion, a PE ratio of 56.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.01 and a 200 day moving average of $129.11.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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). 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 analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 115.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.78.

Insider Activity

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

Blackstone 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.