Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Sold by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Key Points

• Howard Financial Services LTD. has significantly reduced its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 78.9% during the second quarter, now owning only 1,931 shares, valued at approximately $289,000.
• Insider trading activity included CAO David Payne selling 9,400 shares for around $1.6 million and insider Vikrant Sawhney selling 50,850 shares for approximately $8.8 million, indicating notable insider selling.
• Blackstone recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, up from the previous $0.93, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders despite a high payout ratio of 110.75%.

Howard Financial Services LTD. cut its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 78.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,931 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 7,222 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,045,000. Park National Corp OH increased its stake in Blackstone by 3.4% in the second quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 2,334 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $273,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at $3,719,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $17,713,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO David Payne sold 9,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.97, for a total transaction of $1,597,718.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 54,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,261,325.36. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were 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 owned 737,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $128,015,742.72. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 1,189,806 shares of company stock worth $30,046,627 and sold 16,871,634 shares worth $135,328,376. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $181.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $133.74 billion, a PE ratio of 48.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $170.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.59. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 110.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Dbs Bank raised Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Company 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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