Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. cut its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 10.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,060 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $154.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $111.31 billion, a PE ratio of 54.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.59 and a 1 year high of $155.18.

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). The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total transaction of $14,323,104.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.