ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 5,854 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,486 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,854 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $19,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.78.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

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 stock was 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $157.21 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $140.08 and its 200-day moving average is $129.63. The firm has a market cap of $112.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $161.25. 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 (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.90%.

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.