19,726 Shares in Blackstone Inc. $BX Acquired by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services acquired 19,726 Blackstone shares worth approximately $2.32 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 70% of BX.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $147.95, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $140.62.
• Blackstone exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.52 in EPS and $5.04 billion in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, or $5.16 annualized.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,726 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,321,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BX. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 26,600.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $1,379,685.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 64,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,359,783.04. This trade represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 573,614 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $15,000,006.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 8,455,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,118,071.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, HSBC restated a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $140.62 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.55. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $127.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.41.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.29 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.44%.

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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