Spinnaker Investment Group LLC Trims Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Spinnaker Investment Group LLC decreased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 27,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,624,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Blackstone by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,088 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 25,296 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,312,000 after acquiring an additional 2,315 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE BX traded up $4.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,862,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,504,612. The business’s 50 day moving average is $130.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.79. The firm has a market cap of $99.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $145.16.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 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 target on Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.65.

Blackstone Company 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.