Blackstone Inc. $BX Stock Position Lowered by Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,722 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,430 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for 1.5% of Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Blackstone were worth $8,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,112,162,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Blackstone by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,364,373,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $1,275,747,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.7%

BX opened at $143.32 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $131.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.93. The firm has a market cap of $107.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.17 per share, with a total value of $50,890.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,189 shares in the company, valued at $5,787,065.13. This trade represents a 0.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.43.

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.