Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD has acquired a new stake of 29,915 shares in Blackstone Inc., valued at approximately $4.18 million.
• Blackstone has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, which is an increase from its previous dividend of $0.93, with a current dividend yield of 2.32%.
• The asset manager's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.21, surpassing analysts' estimates of $1.10, with revenue reaching $3.07 billion for the quarter.

Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 29,915 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,179,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Blackstone by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,027 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.7% in the first quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,152 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $177.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $149.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.68. The firm has a market cap of $129.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on BX. UBS Group lowered their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $105,388,604.62. This represents a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 2,849,769 shares of company stock valued at $54,932,307 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.

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