Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,692 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 892 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 30.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,091,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,652,526,000 after acquiring an additional 14,396,655 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 13.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,825,769 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,588,433,000 after buying an additional 1,744,652 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Blackstone by 43.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,877,288 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $736,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,098,150 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Blackstone by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,246,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $562,058,000 after acquiring an additional 106,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 13,816.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,623,868 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,744,370,000 after purchasing an additional 3,597,828 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total transaction of $6,268,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 393,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,294,783.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 232 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $127.08 per share, for a total transaction of $29,482.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,225 shares in the company, valued at $4,349,313. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total value of $6,268,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 393,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,294,783.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $117.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $84.32 billion, a PE ratio of 41.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.52. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.92 and a 52-week high of $133.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $125.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.98. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BX. TheStreet cut Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (down from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.65.

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.