Occidental Asset Management LLC Invests $2.46 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Occidental Asset Management initiated a $2.46 million position in Blackstone during the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own approximately 70% of BX shares.
• Blackstone exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.52 in adjusted EPS and $5.04 billion in revenue, with revenue rising 35.9% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $147.95 price target, and Blackstone increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, representing a 3.7% yield.

Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 20,932 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,463,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 26,600.0% in the second quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 267 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BX. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their target price on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.95.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $140.87 on Tuesday. 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 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 $127.05 and a 200-day moving average of $122.45. The company has a market cap of $105.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders 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 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

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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