Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Wellington Management reduced its Blackstone position by 24% in the second quarter, selling 18,617 shares and retaining 58,927 shares worth approximately $6.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 70% of BX.
• Blackstone reported quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share, 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 per share, implying a 3.9% yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $149.43 versus the stock’s reported price of $133.89; target prices range from $127 to $171.

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 24.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 58,927 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 18,617 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $133.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.50 and a 200 day moving average of $123.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.95, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BX. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.43.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment management and advisory services to institutions, corporations, and individual investors. The company invests across multiple asset classes, including private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, insurance solutions, and hedge fund solutions.

Its investment activities include acquiring and managing businesses, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, and credit investments.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.