Bank of America Corp DE Takes $1.36 Billion Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired a new $1.36 billion stake in Blackstone during the second quarter, purchasing 11.6 million shares and owning approximately 1.54% of the company.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.52 beating estimates and revenue rising 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $149.43.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, or $5.16 annualized, representing an approximately 4.0% yield; institutional investors own about 70% of Blackstone’s stock.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,594,914 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,364,373,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.54% of Blackstone as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.3% in the first quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,256 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 3,691 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone acquired 272,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the purchase, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 84,500 shares worth $12,066,135. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of a number of research analyst 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 research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.43.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $128.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.95 and a 200-day moving average of $123.38. The stock has a market cap of $96.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.56. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's payout ratio is 115.44%.

Blackstone Profile

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment management and advisory services to institutions, corporations, and individual investors. The company invests across multiple asset classes, including private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, insurance solutions, and hedge fund solutions.

Its investment activities include acquiring and managing businesses, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, and credit investments.

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