OneAscent Financial Services LLC Lowers Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC cut its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,189 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 706 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth $17,568,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. AXS Investments LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.35% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $113.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $80.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $71.72 and a one year high of $115.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $103.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.52.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The asset manager reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. Blackstone had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 347.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 191.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. TheStreet raised Blackstone from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $104.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $101.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Blackstone from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director William G. Parrett sold 3,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.47, for a total value of $435,708.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,479,934.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Blackstone news, Director William G. Parrett sold 3,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.47, for a total value of $435,708.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,941 shares in the company, valued at $3,479,934.27. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings I/Ii Gp L. Blackstone sold 14,704,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.98, for a total value of $117,342,731.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $347,943.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,402,086 shares of company stock valued at $198,963,771 in the last quarter. 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.