Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Sells 11,809 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd has significantly reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 66.9%, now owning 5,854 shares valued at approximately $818,000 after selling 11,809 shares in the first quarter.
• Blackstone recently reported impressive quarterly earnings, with $1.21 earnings per share exceeding analyst expectations of $1.10, and a revenue increase of 32.7% year-over-year.
• The firm has announced an increased quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, up from $0.93, reflecting a payout ratio of 100% and an annualized yield of 2.35%.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 66.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,854 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 11,809 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Blackstone were worth $818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $170.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,992,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,272,270. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $152.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.49. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $124.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone bought 1,189,532 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at $105,388,604.62. This trade represents a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.