Hedeker Wealth LLC Sells 5,385 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Hedeker Wealth LLC cut its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 8.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 59,284 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,385 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 1.3% of Hedeker Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Hedeker Wealth LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GFG Capital LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% in the second quarter. GFG Capital LLC now owns 83,133 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. increased its position in Blackstone by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 46,319 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,450,000 after purchasing an additional 14,958 shares during the period. Hudock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 22,369 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 205,941 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $24,233,000 after buying an additional 3,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 145,297 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $17,097,000 after acquiring an additional 7,246 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone bought 272,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Argus upped their price target on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.43.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $133.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.56. 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 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current 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 $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change 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%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.44%.

Blackstone 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.