Raymond James Trust N.A. Decreases Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Raymond James Trust N.A. lessened its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,625 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,637 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total transaction of $14,323,104.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total transaction of $14,323,104.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $140.89. 219,733 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,484,593. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $130.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $100.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.50. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $145.16.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.65.

Blackstone 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.