Saba Capital Management L.P. Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Saba Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 211,134 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $24,278,000. Blackstone comprises about 0.7% of Saba Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Q Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 378.7% in the first quarter. Q Global Advisors LLC now owns 61,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,014,000 after acquiring an additional 48,256 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON bought a new position in Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth $25,935,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,509,211 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $173,544,000 after purchasing an additional 27,788 shares during the period. Family Manage LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.6% during the first quarter. Family Manage LLC now owns 4,144 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Cardiff Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $444,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $132.42 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $120.64 and its 200 day moving average is $124.36. The company has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $1.29 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 103.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.76.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.