Amundi Purchases 267,375 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Amundi increased its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 10.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,712,506 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 267,375 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.36% of Blackstone worth $319,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $34,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.43.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $136.07 on Tuesday. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $133.17 and its 200-day moving average is $123.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

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. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, 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. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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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