QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 9,953 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Blackstone position by 8.6% in the second quarter, adding 9,953 shares to own 125,182 shares valued at approximately $14.73 million.
• Blackstone exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.52 in EPS versus the $1.34 consensus and $5.04 billion in revenue, up 35.9% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $148.71 target price.
• Blackstone shares opened at $119.19, down 3.9%, while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, representing a 4.3% annualized yield.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,182 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 9,953 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $14,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 99.1% during the 4th quarter. 1 North Wealth Services LLC now owns 221 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, NBH Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $12,380,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 771,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,523,956.20. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have bought 846,711 shares of company stock worth $22,189,293 and have sold 184,500 shares worth $24,446,135. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.71.

Blackstone Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of BX stock opened at $119.19 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $186.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.84. The company has a market cap of $89.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment management and advisory services to institutions, corporations, and individual investors. The company invests across multiple asset classes, including private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, insurance solutions, and hedge fund solutions.

Its investment activities include acquiring and managing businesses, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, and credit investments.

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