BlackRock Inc. Buys New Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 51.9 million Blackstone shares worth approximately $6.1 billion during the second quarter, giving it a 6.99% stake. Institutional investors collectively own about 70% of Blackstone.
• Blackstone reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with adjusted EPS of $1.52 versus the $1.34 consensus estimate and revenue of $5.04 billion, up 35.9% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29, or $5.16 annually, implying a 3.7% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $147.95, versus a recent price of $140.87.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 51,943,245 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $6,112,162,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 6.99% of Blackstone at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,463,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth $1,113,000. Performance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at $203,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $270,380,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,066,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $1,379,685.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,359,783.04. This represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $140.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $127.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.45.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. The company's revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's payout ratio is 115.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.95.

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.

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