UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 16,651 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 16,651 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 3.4% in the third quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 13,733 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 671 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 13,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC now owns 216,275 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $24,242,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Finally, Northbridge Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northbridge Financial Group LLC now owns 7,871 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $118.58 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $89.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.52. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $165.14.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.16% and a net margin of 22.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a drop from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 2nd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BX shares. Argus lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Blackstone from $154.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $128.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Credit Suisse Group set a $165.00 price target on Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.57.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the purchase, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This represents a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone sold 124,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total value of $2,043,440.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 464,790 shares of company stock worth $12,198,198 and have sold 3,992,776 shares worth $25,507,509. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Blackstone News

Investors following BX have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone will provide Pfizer up to $1.5 billion to support development of an investigational obesity drug. The deal offers potential exposure to a large healthcare market, although returns depend on the drug’s development and commercial prospects. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: A data-center campus developer backed by Blackstone secured more than $1.5 billion in financing, highlighting activity in the firm’s digital-infrastructure portfolio; the report does not specify a direct financial benefit to BX. Data center financing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical analysis said BX’s broader bullish setup remains intact but selling pressure is testing a breakout. Another report described performance as mixed, with recent monthly gains but weaker year-to-date returns. Technical analysis

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc. is a global alternative asset manager that invests on behalf of institutional and individual investors. Its businesses span private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, and multi-asset investing, with strategies that include private funds and investment products for a range of clients. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the firm initially focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory work before expanding into investment management.