Entropy Technologies LP Invests $2.20 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP opened a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter, buying 14,288 shares worth about $2.2 million.
• Blackstone recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $1.36 versus the $1.34 consensus, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $3.43 billion.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.16 per share, though its dividend payout ratio is high at 118.67%.

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,288 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,202,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $124.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.59. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. HSBC lowered their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,129,914.25. The trade was a 18.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone 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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