Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Bought by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Blackstone stake by 4.4% in the second quarter, adding 70,409 shares to own 1.67 million shares worth approximately $196.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 70% of Blackstone.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.43. Recent targets range from $125 to $169.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.52 beating estimates and revenue rising 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion; it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29, implying a 4.1% yield.

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,671,137 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 70,409 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.22% of Blackstone worth $196,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BX. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Blackstone by 12,011.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 130,414,132 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $15,345,831,000 after buying an additional 129,337,339 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $6,112,162,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,861,885,000 after acquiring an additional 179,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $1,364,373,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.43.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE:BX opened at $125.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $133.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.19. The company has a market cap of $94.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released 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. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Company 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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