Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Purchased by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,861 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its position in Blackstone by 12.2% during the second quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 4,399 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 12,090.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the period. X Square Capital LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in Blackstone by 12.1% during the second quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 197,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,426,000 after buying an additional 21,300 shares during the period. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1,190.1% in the 2nd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,832 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related 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 sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $139.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.65 billion, a PE ratio of 49.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $145.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $134.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. TD Cowen boosted 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.94.

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.