Kimelman & Baird LLC Buys Shares of 310,353 Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Kimelman & Baird LLC initiated a 310,353-share position in Blackstone during the second quarter, worth approximately $36.5 million and representing 2% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own about 70% of Blackstone.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.52 per share versus the $1.34 consensus 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, implying a 3.6% yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $149.43; Oppenheimer recently raised its target to $171 and assigned an “outperform” rating.

Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 310,353 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $36,519,000. Blackstone accounts for approximately 2.0% of Kimelman & Baird LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone by 2.5% in the third quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:BX opened at $142.63 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $130.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $107.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 115.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.43.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone bought 272,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $7,126,861.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 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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