Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Takes $2.19 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Ausdal Financial Partners initiated a Blackstone position worth approximately $2.19 million by purchasing 18,637 shares in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own about 70% of Blackstone’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95; recent targets range from $127 to $169.
• Blackstone reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $1.52 in EPS and $5.04 billion in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $1.29, or $5.16 annualized.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,637 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,193,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.95.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone acquired 272,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $227,533,512.66. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $143.25 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Blackstone 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source