Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Bought by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 36.0%, owning 29,055 shares valued at approximately $4,061,000 at the end of the first quarter.
• Blackstone recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, which is a boost from the previous $0.93, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.5%.
• Following recent insider sales, Blackstone's stock price opened at $163.16, with a year-high of $200.96 and a market capitalization of $120.27 billion.

Allstate Corp grew its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,055 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 7,691 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total transaction of $16,736,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 808,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,353,571.52. This represents a 11.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total transaction of $8,829,594.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 737,248 shares in the company, valued at $128,015,742.72. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,189,806 shares of company stock worth $30,046,627 and have sold 16,850,134 shares worth $131,641,986. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.8%

BX opened at $163.1640 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $161.02 and a 200-day moving average of $149.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Saturday, July 19th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.12.

Blackstone Company 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.

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