Buckland Partners Management Co LLC Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Buckland Partners Management purchased 10,000 Blackstone shares worth approximately $1.18 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 70% of the company.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.52 beating estimates of $1.34 and revenue rising 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $147.95 target price. Blackstone also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, equivalent to a 3.7% annualized yield.

Buckland Partners Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,000 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,177,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $6,112,162,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth 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 increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,538,067 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,326,762,000 after acquiring an additional 384,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $140.87 on Tuesday. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $127.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.44%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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