Blackstone Inc. $BX Holdings Lifted by Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co

Key Points

• Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 3.0%, now holding approximately 70,612 shares valued at $10.56 million, constituting 1.2% of their total holdings.
• Blackstone recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.03 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 110.75%.
• Several analysts have adjusted their ratings on Blackstone, with Piper Sandler lowering the target price from $181 to $173, while BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage with an "outperform" rating and a target of $190.

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,612 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up approximately 1.2% of Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co's holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Mattern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.8% during the second quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.8% during the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.0% during the second quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,549 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. McAdam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.4% during the first quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BX. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Blackstone from $181.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Dbs Bank raised Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on Blackstone from $181.00 to $171.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Blackstone from $194.00 to $188.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.06.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE:BX opened at $158.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The stock's 50-day moving average is $172.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.42. The stock has a market cap of $116.56 billion, a PE ratio of 42.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.75%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total transaction of $8,829,594.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 737,248 shares in the company, valued at $128,015,742.72. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 2,538,071 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.61 per share, with a total value of $64,999,998.31. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 7,506,209 shares in the company, valued at $192,234,012.49. The trade was a 51.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 3,727,877 shares of company stock worth $95,046,625 and have sold 16,984,634 shares worth $155,181,346. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.

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