Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,284 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,388 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX stock opened at $154.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $137.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.62, a PEG 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 1 year low of $88.59 and a 1 year high of $155.18.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.90%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. 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 report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.