EFG International AG Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• EFG International AG acquired 45,912 Blackstone shares worth approximately $5.4 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own about 70% of Blackstone’s stock.
• Blackstone exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.52 in EPS and $5.04 billion in revenue, with revenue up 35.9% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, representing a 3.6% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with 13 Buy ratings and 11 Holds and an average price target of $147.95.

EFG International AG acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 45,912 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $5,397,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.2%

BX opened at $143.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $107.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.07, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $129.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.57. 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 released 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. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at $227,533,512.66. This represents a 3.23% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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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