American Century Companies Inc. Increases Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,777 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $7,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:BX opened at $157.21 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $140.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.63. The company has a market cap of $112.35 billion, a PE ratio of 55.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.59 and a twelve month high of $161.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly 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). Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.