United Services Automobile Association Reduces Stake in Blackstone Inc.

United Services Automobile Association has decreased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 18.2% during the third quarter, according to their latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After selling 3,704 shares, the firm now holds a total of 16,605 shares of the asset manager's stock. The value of United Services Automobile Association's holdings in Blackstone stands at approximately $2,543,000 at the close of the most recent quarter.

Institutional Investor Activity

In addition to United Services Automobile Association, several other institutional investors and hedge funds have recently altered their positions in Blackstone. Notably, Wulff Hansen & CO. dramatically increased its stake by 12,192.7% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 7,281,128 shares and bringing its total to 7,340,845 shares valued at around $908,797,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC also expanded significantly during the third quarter, enhancing their holdings by 15,357.3%, resulting in ownership of 4,201,150 shares valued at $6,433,220,000 after purchasing an additional 4,173,971 shares.

Furthermore, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Blackstone by 213.5% during the second quarter, totaling 1,375,969 shares worth $170,345,000, after an increase of 937,084 shares. Mackenzie Financial Corp also significantly increased its holdings by 468.4% in the same quarter, owning 1,107,547 shares now worth $137,114,000 after buying 912,685 more shares. Meanwhile, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its investment by an impressive 7,917.6%, acquiring 400,000 shares valued at $49,520,000. Overall, institutional investors now collectively own 70.00% of Blackstone's stock.

Insider Selling Activity

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company on November 7th, with a total transaction value of $7,433,289.06, selling at an average price of $175.94. Following this sale, Finley owns 387,137 shares valued at around $68,112,883.78, marking a reduction of 9.84% in his position. Furthermore, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares at an average price of $150.81 on October 1st, resulting in total proceeds of $17,561,522.88 and reducing his holdings by 12.71%. Corporate insiders now hold 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Reports and Price Targets

Blackstone Inc. has been the focus of multiple analyst reports recently. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target from $125.00 to $146.00 and assigned the stock a "neutral" rating. TD Cowen also lifted their target from $133.00 to $149.00, maintaining a "hold" rating. Deutsche Bank upgraded their price objective from $172.00 to $182.00 and categorized the stock as a "buy," while Morgan Stanley raised their target from $164.00 to $177.00 and offered an "overweight" rating. Additionally, Citigroup adjusted their price objective from $157.00 to $170.00 while keeping a "neutral" stance. Currently, a total of thirteen analysts have rated Blackstone with a hold rating, and six have assigned a buy rating. As per data from MarketBeat, the consensus rating is "Hold" with a target price of approximately $157.63.

Market Performance and Earnings

As of Friday, shares of NYSE:BX opened at $187.00. Blackstone has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. With a market capitalization of $135.01 billion, the company has recorded a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.26 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58. Over the past twelve months, shares hit a low of $111.70 and a high of $200.96. During its latest quarterly earnings report on October 17th, Blackstone reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01, exceeding market expectations of $0.91. The company also reported revenue of $2.43 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $2.37 billion, with a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Analysts predict that Blackstone will achieve an EPS of 4.4 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

Blackstone has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.86, which was paid on November 4th to stockholders of record as of October 28th. This increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.82 results in an annualized dividend of $3.44, yielding approximately 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was October 28th, and the current payout ratio stands at 118.21%.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc. is a leading alternative asset management firm specializing in various investment vehicles, including real estate, private equity, hedge funds, credit, and multi-asset class strategies. The firm generally focuses on investing in early-stage companies and provides a wide range of capital markets services to its clients.

Investment, Stocks, Dividends