Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Holdings Lessened by Prosperity Consulting Group LLC

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 29.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,823 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,441 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moseley Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 0.7% in the second quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,239 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% during the second quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 13,840 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 13,615 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 23.7% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 439 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 1.3% during the second quarter. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 6,672 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $151.19 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $136.38 and its 200-day moving average is $128.32. The company has a market capitalization of $108.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. 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 52 week low of $88.59 and a 52 week high of $151.87.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued 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 2.17%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.78.

About Blackstone

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.