Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Increases Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, now holding approximately $32.5 million worth of shares, which represents 0.9% of their total portfolio.
• Major shareholder, Private Multi-Asset Blackstone, bought over 2.5 million shares at an average price of $25.61 per share, boosting their holdings by 51.09%.
• Blackstone recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, raising its annualized dividend yield to 2.6% despite a payout ratio of 110.75%.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,317 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 3,733 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up approximately 0.9% of Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $32,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 105.4% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,405 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 6,878 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $273,000. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 12,042 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $423,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its stake in Blackstone by 14.5% in the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 14,708 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,056,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 2,538,071 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.61 per share, with a total value of $64,999,998.31. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 7,506,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $192,234,012.49. This trade represents a 51.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total value of $8,829,594.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 737,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $128,015,742.72. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 2,538,345 shares of company stock worth $65,046,628 and sold 16,984,634 shares worth $155,181,346. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $156.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $115.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.77. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $171.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.82.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 110.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $200.00 to $199.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $181.00 to $171.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $194.00 to $188.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $180.26.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.

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