Field & Main Bank Takes $2.21 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Field & Main Bank initiated a $2.21 million position in Blackstone, purchasing 18,810 shares during the second quarter. Institutional investors now own approximately 70% of BX.
• Blackstone reported quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share, beating estimates by $0.18, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, equivalent to an annualized $5.16 dividend and a 3.6% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $149.43.

Field & Main Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,810 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,213,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $6,112,162,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,364,373,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $1,275,747,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at about $605,267,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $514,736,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at $227,533,512.66. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $142.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's fifty day moving average is $130.65 and its 200 day moving average is $122.92. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business's revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.43.

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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