MAI Capital Management Sells 604 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

MAI Capital Management cut its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,259 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 604 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $9,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $146.92 per share, for a total transaction of $47,602.08. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 39,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,741,192.84. This represents a 0.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.46, for a total value of $3,686,390.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 453,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,814,720.56. This trade represents a 4.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 2,565,543 shares of company stock valued at $69,050,139 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE BX opened at $142.59 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $105.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 20.56%.The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. 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 $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 147.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Blackstone from $166.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 14th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $178.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Blackstone from $173.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $199.00 to $187.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.00.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.