Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Takes $4.95 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Clear Harbor Asset Management initiated a $4.95 million position in Blackstone by purchasing 42,105 shares during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own approximately 70% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 13 Buy ratings and 11 Hold ratings producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $147.95.
• Blackstone exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.52 in EPS and $5.04 billion in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share.

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 42,105 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,954,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at about $6,112,162,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $1,275,747,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $514,736,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $983,690,000 after buying an additional 3,178,133 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $270,380,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, 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 corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $143.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company's fifty day moving average price is $128.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.57. The stock has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Blackstone's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's payout ratio 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.

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