Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Has $5.45 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Advisors increased its Blackstone position by 47.7% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 46,319 shares valued at approximately $5.45 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 70% of Blackstone.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $149.43. Blackstone’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, reporting $1.52 EPS and $5.04 billion in revenue, up 35.9% year over year.
• Blackstone raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, equivalent to a 3.9% annualized yield. Shares opened at $133.89, while recent insider activity included both significant purchases and sales.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,319 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 14,958 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises 0.8% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 12,011.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 130,414,132 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,345,831,000 after purchasing an additional 129,337,339 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,112,162,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Blackstone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,065,374,000 after buying an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after acquiring an additional 179,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $1,364,373,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BX. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.43.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.7%

BX stock opened at $133.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $100.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $133.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.14. 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 current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The company 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%. Blackstone's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 115.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of Blackstone 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone

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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