UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Invests $3.58 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Univest Financial acquired 30,399 Blackstone shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $3.58 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 70% of BX.
• Blackstone reported quarterly EPS of $1.52, exceeding the $1.34 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, implying a 3.7% yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $147.95, although recent insider activity included significant stock sales.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 30,399 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,577,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 9.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. United Bank raised its holdings in Blackstone by 14.7% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,703,000 after buying an additional 8,655 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE:BX opened at $140.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $105.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. 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 released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.95.

About Blackstone

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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