Blackstone Inc. $BX Stock: Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stake

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 478,878 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 26,630 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $53,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $6,112,162,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,364,373,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $605,267,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,520,908 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $519,859,000 after purchasing an additional 333,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,353,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $512,250,000 after buying an additional 52,755 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone acquired 272,642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at $227,533,512.66. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 464,792 shares of company stock valued at $12,205,945 and sold 4,047,276 shares valued at $33,507,144. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Credit Suisse Group set a $165.00 price target on Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.57.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $119.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $89.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $165.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $120.38 and its 200 day moving average is $123.52.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.16% and a net margin of 22.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This is a drop from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.56%.

Blackstone Profile

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset manager that invests on behalf of institutional and individual investors. Its businesses span private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, and multi-asset investing, with strategies that include private funds and investment products for a range of clients.

Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the firm initially focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory work before expanding into investment management.