MWA Asset Management Grows Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

MWA Asset Management raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,152 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises approximately 1.6% of MWA Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BX. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $184.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $133.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.53, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $163.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.27. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.39 and a 52-week high of $186.32.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This represents a 12.71 % 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 the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.