Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Purchased by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson increased its Blackstone stake by 30% in the third quarter, acquiring 45,140 additional shares for a total holding of 195,410 shares valued at approximately $21.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70% of Blackstone.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Blackstone receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $144.57. The company also exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.32 versus the $1.26 consensus estimate, despite slightly lower-than-expected revenue.
• Blackstone reduced its quarterly dividend to $1.12 per share from $1.29, representing an annualized dividend of $4.48 and a 3.7% yield. Insider activity was heavily weighted toward selling, with insiders selling more than 4.07 million shares over the last quarter.

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,410 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 45,140 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $21,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 36,270 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,066,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 25,069 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,810,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board lifted its position in Blackstone by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 22,805 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $87,000. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.5% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 47,416 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,315,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $11,077,261.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,392.80. This trade represents a 99.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Finley sold 45,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 464,792 shares of company stock worth $12,205,945 and have sold 4,077,276 shares worth $37,573,644. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $154.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Piper Sandler set a $126.00 target price on Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.57.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.9%

Blackstone stock opened at $120.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $123.12 and a 200-day moving average of $124.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $165.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 23.16%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a decrease from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 99.56%.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc NYSE: BX is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment and advisory services to institutional investors, companies, and qualified individual investors. The company manages capital across private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, hedge fund solutions, secondaries, and growth-oriented investments.

Blackstone invests in and manages portfolios of businesses, properties, infrastructure assets, and credit instruments across a range of industries.

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