Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Purchased by Moore Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Moore Capital Management increased its Blackstone stake by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 27,920 shares and bringing its total holdings to 111,680 shares worth about $17.2 million.
• Blackstone shares were down 2.3% and recently traded at $124.89, while the company reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.36 and 10% revenue growth year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive on BX, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $150.86; the company also paid a $1.16 quarterly dividend, yielding 3.7%.

Moore Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 33.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,680 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 27,920 shares during the period. Moore Capital Management LP's holdings in Blackstone were worth $17,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,295 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 105.1% during the 4th quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,486 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 89.8% during the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 65,040 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,025,000 after acquiring an additional 30,767 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 23,759 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,662,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,218,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $124.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.56. The company has a market capitalization of $92.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.86.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 12,355,303 shares of company stock worth $264,789,896 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone

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.

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