Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Position Raised by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 30.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,826 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,138 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total transaction of $14,323,104.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $137.11 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $145.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.50.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.90%.

About Blackstone

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.