Deutsche Bank AG Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank acquired 2.3 million Blackstone shares worth approximately $270.4 million, giving it a 0.31% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 70% of BX.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 13 Buy ratings and 11 Holds and an average price target of $147.95. Blackstone recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.52 in EPS and $5.04 billion in revenue.
• Blackstone increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, representing a $5.16 annualized payout and a 3.7% yield. Recent insider activity was mixed, with a major shareholder buying roughly $20 million of stock while an insider sold $6.6 million.

Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,297,785 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $270,380,000. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.31% of Blackstone at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BX. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 765,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 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.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $140.62 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The firm has a market cap of $105.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 115.44%.

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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