Taylor Financial Group Inc. Acquires 120 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Taylor Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,240 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up about 1.4% of Taylor Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Taylor Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arcus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 1.2% in the second quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Mattern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 2.8% in the second quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 0.8% in the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 8,036 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,549 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $153.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $113.29 billion, a PE ratio of 43.91, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.26.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 20.56%. Analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $178.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Blackstone from $200.00 to $199.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 2,538,071 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.61 per share, for a total transaction of $64,999,998.31. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 7,506,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $192,234,012.49. This trade represents a 51.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.46, for a total transaction of $3,686,390.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 453,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,814,720.56. This trade represents a 4.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 2,538,345 shares of company stock worth $65,046,628 and sold 16,984,634 shares worth $155,181,346. Company 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.