Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Acquired by US Bancorp DE

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 3.8%, acquiring a total of 156,119 shares valued at approximately $23.35 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Blackstone announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous dividend and resulting in a yield of 2.7%.
• Analysts have varied ratings for Blackstone, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $179.00, while the stock recently traded at $153.88, down 4.2%.

US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,119 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 5,651 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter worth $28,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter worth $28,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank raised Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Blackstone from $207.00 to $199.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.00.

Blackstone Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $153.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $172.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.17. The company has a market capitalization of $113.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone bought 1,189,532 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $105,388,604.62. This represents a 39.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 16,689,884 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.26, for a total value of $104,478,673.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 3,727,877 shares of company stock valued at $95,046,625 and sold 16,984,634 shares valued at $155,181,346. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.