OneAscent Financial Services LLC Buys New Shares in Blackstone Inc. $BX

OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 19,960 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,349,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $141.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $106.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $128.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.42. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 573,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $15,000,006.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 8,455,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,118,071.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BX. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.