Verity Asset Management Inc. Makes New $599,000 Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Verity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $599,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,112,162,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,364,373,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $605,267,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Blackstone by 8.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,520,908 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $519,859,000 after purchasing an additional 333,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,353,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $512,250,000 after buying an additional 52,755 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 6.3%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $125.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $121.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.91. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $165.14.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.16% and a net margin of 22.11%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a drop from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 99.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on Blackstone from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $126.00 target price on Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.57.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $12,380,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 771,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,523,956.20. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 464,792 shares of company stock worth $12,205,945 and sold 4,047,276 shares worth $33,507,144. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX) is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment and advisory services to institutional investors, companies, and qualified individual investors. The company manages capital across private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, hedge fund solutions, secondaries, and growth-oriented investments.

Blackstone invests in and manages portfolios of businesses, properties, infrastructure assets, and credit instruments across a range of industries.