Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Blackstone Put Options (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Blackstone saw unusually heavy put-option activity: Traders bought 27,322 put options, 52% above the average daily volume, signaling increased demand for downside protection or bearish exposure.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $147.95. Blackstone also recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue rising 35.9% year over year.
• Blackstone shares rose 0.3% to $143.86, while the company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, equating to a 3.6% annualized yield; insiders, however, reported substantially more selling than buying over the past 90 days.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 27,322 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 52% compared to the average daily volume of 18,001 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Argus boosted their price target on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 869,669 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $1,379,685.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,359,783.04. This trade represents a 12.85% 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 worth $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BX. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Blackstone by 12,011.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 130,414,132 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,345,831,000 after buying an additional 129,337,339 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $6,112,162,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,364,373,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $605,267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.3%

BX stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.86. 2,932,883 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,414,894. The company has a market capitalization of $107.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Blackstone's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

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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