Empowered Funds LLC Buys 3,236 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 12.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter worth $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX stock opened at $181.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $130.98 billion, a PE ratio of 62.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.79 and a 1-year high of $184.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.