Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 274.0%, now holding 17,888 shares valued at approximately $2.68 million, making it the 13th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Blackstone recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03, up from the previous $0.93, representing an annual yield of 2.4%.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Blackstone's stock, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $172.71.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 274.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,888 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 13,105 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for approximately 0.9% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Blackstone by 105.4% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,405 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 6,878 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $273,000. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 12,042 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 64,614 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,032,000 after purchasing an additional 16,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 14,708 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Blackstone from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.71.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total value of $8,829,594.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 737,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $128,015,742.72. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.46, for a total value of $3,686,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 453,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,814,720.56. This represents a 4.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 3,727,877 shares of company stock worth $95,046,625 and have sold 16,984,634 shares worth $155,181,346. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $168.22 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.48. The company has a market cap of $124.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 110.75%.

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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