Glenview Trust Co Takes $2.80 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Glenview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 23,772 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,797,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,112,162,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Blackstone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 636,613 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,861,885,000 after acquiring an additional 179,213 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $1,364,373,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,275,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $142.63 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $130.65 and its 200 day moving average is $122.92. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The stock has a market cap of $107.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 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 (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $7,126,861.88. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. 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 report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen investment 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, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.43.

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.