Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,654 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 16,080 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $11,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BX shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.17.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $151.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,073,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,449,274. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $142.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.34. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.59 and a fifty-two week high of $161.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.