Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Investor’s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC acquired 8,111 Blackstone shares worth approximately $954,000 in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own about 70% of BX.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95; recent targets range from $130 to $152.
• Blackstone reported quarterly EPS of $1.52, exceeding estimates of $1.34, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, representing a 3.6% yield.

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,111 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $954,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at about $6,112,162,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,275,747,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $514,736,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% in 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 purchased a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $270,380,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. 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. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $1,379,685.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,359,783.04. This represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $143.56 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.82 and a 200-day moving average of $122.44.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is currently 115.44%.

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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