Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 189,502 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,667 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on BX. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.94.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $142.36. 3,421,587 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,497,822. The business has a 50-day moving average of $132.78 and a 200 day moving average of $127.29. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $145.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.30, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.50.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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 business had revenue of $3.69 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.90%.

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.