GFG Capital LLC Cuts Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• GFG Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 23.0%, now holding 51,824 shares, making Blackstone about 2.3% of its investment portfolio.
• Blackstone recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03, an increase from the previous $0.93, with a yield of 2.5%.
• Wall Street analysts have varying ratings on Blackstone, with price targets ranging from $171.00 to $197.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

GFG Capital LLC reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,824 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 15,483 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises about 2.3% of GFG Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. GFG Capital LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $7,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 16,123 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 32.2% in the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 87,420 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,220,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 28,202 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,942,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on Blackstone from $181.00 to $171.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.67.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:BX opened at $162.48 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.77. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.09. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 110.75%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, 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 value of $8,829,594.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 113,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.69, for a total transaction of $19,852,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 695,757 shares in the company, valued at $122,237,547.33. This represents a 13.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 3,727,877 shares of company stock valued at $95,046,625 and have sold 16,984,634 shares valued at $155,181,346. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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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