Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Invests $852,000 in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 6,670 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 26,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 371 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,890.07. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 42,189 shares in the company, valued at $5,787,065.13. This trade represents a 0.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Argus raised their target price on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Stock Down 3.6%

BX opened at $143.94 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one 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 market capitalization of $108.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.70.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.44%.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.