Howland Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,734 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,251 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 763.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 233 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $119.48 per share, with a total value of $26,166.12. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,115,488.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $119.48 per share, with a total value of $26,166.12. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,115,488.60. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX traded up $2.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $126.61. 3,365,473 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,431,396. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $122.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.24. The company has a market cap of $90.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.50. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $133.56.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 117.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Argus boosted their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Blackstone from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.00.

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.