Oxbow Advisors LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 16,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,991,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 26,600.0% during the 2nd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $140.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $127.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.41. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on BX shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Blackstone

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.