Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Major Shareholder Acquires 272,642 Shares of Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) 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 acquired at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $7,126,861.88. Following the purchase, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $143.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,016,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,462,198. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.44.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $30,000. NBH Bank bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.95.

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.