Insider Selling: Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Major Shareholder Sells $2,043,440.00 in Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone sold 124,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total transaction of $2,043,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $112.33 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $133.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $170.45.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective 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 note on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter worth approximately $6,112,162,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,364,373,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $1,275,747,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $605,267,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at $514,736,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment solutions to institutional investors, companies, financial advisers and individual investors. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the company has developed a broad platform spanning private markets and other alternative investments.

Blackstone’s businesses include private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, secondaries and hedge fund solutions. Its investment activities may involve acquiring and managing companies, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, private credit and other investments on behalf of its clients.

The firm serves clients and invests across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.