Dearborn Partners LLC Invests $1.24 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners acquired 10,494 Blackstone shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.24 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 70% of Blackstone’s outstanding stock.
• Blackstone reported quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share, beating estimates of $1.34, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29, implying an annualized yield of about 3.6%.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $149.43. Recent insider activity was mixed, including a major shareholder purchase of 272,642 shares and another sale of 7.48 million shares.

Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,494 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 2.5% during the third quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone bought 272,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, 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 insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.3%

BX stock opened at $143.62 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $130.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $107.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.Blackstone's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on BX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Argus raised their price target on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.43.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source