Blackstone Inc. $BX Stock Sold by Sanders Morris Harris LLC

Key Points

• Sanders Morris Harris LLC reduced its Blackstone position by 23.3% in the third quarter, selling 28,461 shares and retaining 93,487 shares valued at approximately $11.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70% of Blackstone’s stock.
• Blackstone shares fell 3.5% to $106.09, near the lower end of their 52-week range. Despite the decline, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $144.65.
• Blackstone reported quarterly EPS of $1.52, exceeding estimates of $1.34, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29, representing a 4.9% annualized yield.

Sanders Morris Harris LLC cut its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 23.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,487 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 28,461 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 1.4% of Sanders Morris Harris LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Sanders Morris Harris LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.3% in the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,369 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,132,000. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest boosted its position in Blackstone by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fearless Solutions LLC dba Best Invest now owns 34,132 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,826,000 after purchasing an additional 3,556 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 9.6% during the third quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,437 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 20,587 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE BX traded down $3.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,582,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,064,601. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $129.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $166.39.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%. Blackstone's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Blackstone from $154.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $11,077,261.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,392.80. This represents a 99.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone bought 272,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 1,038,406 shares of company stock worth $27,205,951 and sold 4,077,276 shares worth $37,573,644. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Profile

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment solutions to institutional investors, companies, financial advisers and individual investors. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the company has developed a broad platform spanning private markets and other alternative investments.

Blackstone's businesses include private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, secondaries and hedge fund solutions. Its investment activities may involve acquiring and managing companies, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, private credit and other investments on behalf of its clients.

The firm serves clients and invests across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

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