Quantbot Technologies LP Increases Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 46.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,021 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,105 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for approximately 0.5% of Quantbot Technologies LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $9,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BX. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.78.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

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

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $151.19 on Monday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.59 and a 12 month high of $151.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.90%.

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.