SFE Investment Counsel Buys New Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• SFE Investment Counsel acquired 75,588 Blackstone shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $8.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 70% of the company.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.52 versus the $1.34 consensus and revenue of $5.04 billion, up 35.9% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29, equating to an annualized $5.16 payout and a 3.6% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $147.95.

SFE Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 75,588 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $8,894,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $1,379,685.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 64,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,359,783.04. This represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $143.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $126.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.70. The company has a market cap of $108.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The firm's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's payout ratio is 115.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Dbs Bank raised shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC restated a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.95.

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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