MidFirst Bank Purchases New Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• MidFirst Bank opened a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter, buying 9,943 shares valued at about $1.53 million.
• Institutional interest in Blackstone remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning about 70% of the stock. Several firms significantly increased their stakes, including Capital Research Global Investors and Amundi.
• Blackstone reported quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 10% year over year. The company also paid a $1.16 quarterly dividend, though its payout ratio is high at 118.67%.

MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,943 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,533,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Blackstone by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Blackstone by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $417,620,000 after buying an additional 1,249,269 shares in the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 16,035.1% during the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $194,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 476.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $204,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,307 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BX. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. HSBC dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.86.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $123.78 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59. The business's 50 day moving average is $121.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.35.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. Blackstone's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 899,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders acquired 9,487,234 shares of company stock valued at $189,789,892 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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