Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 263,714 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,344 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $31,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BX. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 573,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $15,000,006.10. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 8,455,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,118,071.70. This represents a 7.28% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 10,825,520 shares of company stock worth $224,735,908 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $147.08 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $124.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.61. The company has a market cap of $109.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.44%.

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.