Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 263,714 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,344 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $31,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 275.0% in the 2nd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 19,079 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,245,000 after acquiring an additional 13,991 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Blackstone by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,758 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in Blackstone by 2.0% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 8,847 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.8% in the second quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,431 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.1% during the second quarter. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,905 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,754,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE:BX opened at $147.08 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $124.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.90, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.44%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 10,825,520 shares of company stock valued at $224,735,908 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Argus increased their price target on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.