21,524 Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Acquired by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP boosted its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 268.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,524 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 75.6% in the third quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,126 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 17.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 40,665 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,564,000 after buying an additional 5,914 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $152,000. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 94,042 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,541,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 5,272 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 2,266 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Credit Suisse Group set a $165.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $122.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.57.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $119.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $120.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.52. The company has a market cap of $89.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $165.14.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. Blackstone had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 23.16%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a drop from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 99.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total value of $11,077,261.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,120 shares in the company, valued at $47,392.80. This trade represents a 99.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $12,380,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 771,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,523,956.20. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 464,792 shares of company stock worth $12,205,945 and sold 4,047,276 shares worth $33,507,144. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset manager that invests on behalf of institutional and individual investors. Its businesses span private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, and multi-asset investing, with strategies that include private funds and investment products for a range of clients.

Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the firm initially focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory work before expanding into investment management.