Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $23.32 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 250,826 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 11,299 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 59.6% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 367 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 218.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 583 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 63.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Reginald J. Brown purchased 1,842 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $111.24 per share, for a total transaction of $204,904.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,618,430.76. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 29,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.39, for a total transaction of $2,762,461.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 424,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,253,092.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Reginald J. Brown bought 1,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $111.24 per share, for a total transaction of $204,904.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,549 shares in the company, valued at $1,618,430.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,339 shares of company stock worth $11,200,486 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $106.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.72 and a 52 week high of $116.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.18 and a 200-day moving average of $98.04.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The asset manager reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 21.29%. The company’s revenue was up 140.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 30th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 27th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 134.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Blackstone from $98.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Blackstone from $114.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Blackstone from $118.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Blackstone from $97.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $113.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.22.

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.