Worth Asset Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 7,223 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $810,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $214,000. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Blackstone by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 10,822 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.4% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 4,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.5% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 9,221 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional grew its stake in Blackstone by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,877 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BX. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.50.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX traded down $1.80 on Wednesday, reaching $111.56. 2,052,967 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,073,328. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.17. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $166.39.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.44%.

Key Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone agreed to sell Clarion to Informa for approximately $2.96 billion. The transaction could provide a meaningful realization of value and demonstrate continued monetization activity in Blackstone’s portfolio. Blackstone to Sell Clarion to Informa for $2.96 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone-backed data-center operator AirTrunk plans a roughly $1 billion project in Japan, supporting the firm’s exposure to high-growth digital infrastructure and demand for data-center capacity. Blackstone-backed AirTrunk boosts Japan investment with $1B data center project
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone, Bain Capital and Warburg Pincus are reportedly preparing final bids for Fuji Media’s property unit, highlighting Blackstone’s appetite for additional real-estate investments. Blackstone, Bain, Warburg prepare final bids for Fuji Media’s property unit
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America Securities maintained a Buy rating, providing a counterpoint to the more cautious analyst actions. Bank of America Securities Remains a Buy on Blackstone

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $11,077,261.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,392.80. This trade represents a 99.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone sold 124,600 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total transaction of $2,043,440.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,038,406 shares of company stock valued at $27,205,951 and sold 4,077,276 shares valued at $37,573,644. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment solutions to institutional investors, companies, financial advisers and individual investors. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the company has developed a broad platform spanning private markets and other alternative investments.

Blackstone’s businesses include private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, secondaries and hedge fund solutions. Its investment activities may involve acquiring and managing companies, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, private credit and other investments on behalf of its clients.

The firm serves clients and invests across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.