Ethic Inc. Has $11.05 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 14.8%, owning 73,134 shares worth approximately $11.05 million after purchasing an additional 9,449 shares in Q2.
• A variety of institutional investors have recently altered their stakes, with a majority, 70%, of Blackstone's stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Blackstone's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target set at $182.79.

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 14.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,134 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 9,449 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $11,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth $25,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on Blackstone from $181.00 to $171.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Blackstone from $215.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $182.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 113,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.69, for a total value of $19,852,970.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 695,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $122,237,547.33. This trade represents a 13.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the 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 approximately $128,015,742.72. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 2,538,345 shares of company stock valued at $65,046,628 and have sold 16,984,634 shares valued at $155,181,346. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BX stock opened at $161.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $118.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.28, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.77. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 110.75%.

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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