Blackstone Inc. $BX Stock: Yarbrough Capital LLC Decreases Position

Key Points

• Yarbrough Capital reduced its Blackstone position by 21.7% in the third quarter, selling 20,480 shares and retaining 73,775 shares valued at approximately $8.27 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 70%, although insiders were net sellers recently, with 4.08 million shares sold versus 1.04 million shares purchased during the quarter.
• Blackstone raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, a 4.8% yield, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $143.45.

Yarbrough Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 21.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,775 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 20,480 shares during the quarter. Yarbrough Capital LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $8,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,112,162,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,364,373,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $605,267,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,520,908 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $519,859,000 after purchasing an additional 333,798 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,353,274 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $512,250,000 after purchasing an additional 52,755 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $11,077,261.44. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $12,380,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 771,599 shares in the company, valued at $95,523,956.20. This trade represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 1,038,406 shares of company stock worth $27,205,951 and have sold 4,077,276 shares worth $37,573,644. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Blackstone stock traded up $0.50 on Monday, reaching $107.11. 4,029,420 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,072,695. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $165.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $127.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $80.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.45.

Blackstone Company Profile

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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