Sargent Investment Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sargent Investment Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,641 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises 2.2% of Sargent Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,262,972 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,442,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290,324 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Blackstone by 7.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 36,285,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,766,875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546,886 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 12,192.7% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 7,340,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $908,797,000 after buying an additional 7,281,128 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $708,859,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,670,645 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $613,581,000 after acquiring an additional 21,450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $154.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.59 and a 52-week high of $155.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.90%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.78.

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.