Blackstone Inc. $BX Stock Holdings Boosted by Saudi Central Bank

Key Points

• Saudi Central Bank increased its Blackstone stake by 90.6% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 51,953 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70% of Blackstone.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $149.43. Recent targets range from $128 to $169.
• Blackstone reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $1.52 in EPS and $5.04 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, representing a 3.8% annualized yield.

Saudi Central Bank raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 90.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,953 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 24,696 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $6,112,162,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 636,613 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,861,885,000 after buying an additional 179,213 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,364,373,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,275,747,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 371 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,890.07. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 42,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,787,065.13. The trade was a 0.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $1,379,685.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 64,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,359,783.04. The trade was a 12.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BX. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.43.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $136.07 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $132.74 and its 200-day moving average is $123.10. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $102.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.56. 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 (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 net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's payout ratio is 115.44%.

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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