Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Insider Sells $6,619,950.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Blackstone insider John Finley sold 45,000 shares for approximately $6.62 million at an average price of $147.11, reducing his direct stake by 8.02% to 516,017 shares.
• Blackstone reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $1.52 versus the $1.34 consensus and revenue of $5.04 billion, up 35.9% year over year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $1.16 to $1.29 per share, equal to an annualized $5.16 and a 3.5% yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $147.95 target price.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) insider John Finley sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $146.71. 4,177,123 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,627,463. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $124.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.61. The company has a market cap of $108.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.82, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,195,000. Welch Capital Partners LLC NY bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth $19,585,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at about $821,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,808,000. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $354,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.95.

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.

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