250 Shares in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Acquired by Ridgewood Investments LLC

Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 27,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $855,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Blackstone by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 202,475 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,584,000 after purchasing an additional 36,977 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 245.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 4,993 shares during the period. Finally, McAdam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $139.52. The stock had a trading volume of 803,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,482,239. The company has a market cap of $99.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.50. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.59 and a 1 year high of $145.16. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $132.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.11. 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 (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 payout ratio is 115.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.94.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone 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.