Ieq Capital LLC Invests $25.17 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Ieq Capital purchased a new $25.17 million stake in Blackstone, acquiring 213,871 shares during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own approximately 70% of BX.
• Blackstone reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.52 versus the $1.34 estimate and revenue of $5.04 billion, up 35.9% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $147.95. Blackstone also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29, while some insiders recently sold shares.

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 213,871 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $25,166,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $6,112,162,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,275,747,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $514,736,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $983,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178,133 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth $270,380,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised 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. reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.6%

BX stock opened at $143.56 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $128.82 and its 200-day moving average is $122.57. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. 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 (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 business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.Blackstone's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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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