HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors increased its Blackstone stake by 6.7% to 2.54 million shares, valued at approximately $299.2 million. Institutional investors own about 70% of Blackstone’s outstanding stock.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.52 per share versus the $1.34 estimate and revenue of $5.04 billion, up 35.9% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, representing a 3.8% yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $149.43, compared with the stock’s opening price of $136.07.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,542,438 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 158,777 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.34% of Blackstone worth $299,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BX. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,478,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,667,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 100,951 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,561,000 after buying an additional 8,321 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth $1,340,000. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $7,303,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1%

BX stock opened at $136.07 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $132.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.10. The firm has a market cap of $102.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.44, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.56.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Argus boosted their price target on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone bought 272,642 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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