L2 Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

L2 Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Brogan Financial Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.2%

BX stock opened at $143.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $129.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09.

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 the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone acquired 272,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the purchase, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at $227,533,512.66. This represents a 3.23% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 765,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This represents a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 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.