California State Teachers Retirement System Buys 129,337,339 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Blackstone stake by 129.3 million shares, bringing its holdings to 130.4 million shares worth approximately $15.35 billion, or 17.37% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Blackstone, with 13 Buy ratings and 11 Holds and an average price target of $149.43.
• Blackstone reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $1.52 in earnings per share and $5.04 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share. Recent insider activity was mixed, with executives selling shares overall.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 12,011.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,414,132 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 129,337,339 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 17.37% of Blackstone worth $15,345,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $34,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other 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 value of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $136.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $102.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.44%.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.