Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. Invests $1.48 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management purchased 12,897 Blackstone shares worth approximately $1.48 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own about 70% of Blackstone’s stock.
• Blackstone reported quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.34, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, equivalent to an annualized $5.16 dividend and a 3.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $149.43.

Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,897 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,483,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,112,162,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,364,373,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $1,275,747,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $605,267,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $514,736,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.3%

BX stock opened at $143.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $107.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $130.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.78.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.43.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone bought 272,642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 516,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 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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