Advisors Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 704,601 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $82,910,000. Blackstone comprises 0.9% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Blackstone as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after buying an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,112,162,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,538,067 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,326,762,000 after buying an additional 384,264 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 573,614 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $15,000,006.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,455,758 shares in the company, valued at $221,118,071.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of BX stock opened at $141.50 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $128.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.42. The firm has a market cap of $106.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The company 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%. Blackstone's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 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 paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company 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. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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