Lalia Capital LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Lalia Capital acquired 91,047 Blackstone shares worth approximately $10.7 million, making BX its ninth-largest holding and representing 5.2% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own about 70% of Blackstone.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.52 surpassing estimates of $1.34 and revenue rising 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29, equivalent to an annualized $5.16 and a 3.6% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $147.95.

Lalia Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 91,047 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $10,714,000. Blackstone comprises 5.2% of Lalia Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 9.0% during 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 period. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,340,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Blackstone by 92.2% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 807,184 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $92,817,000 after purchasing an additional 387,109 shares during the period. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $7,303,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE BX opened at $143.56 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 573,614 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $15,000,006.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,455,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,118,071.70. The trade was a 7.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Company 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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