MidFirst Bank Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 11,710 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,378,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $6,112,162,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $514,736,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Blackstone by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $270,380,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $140.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.45. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The stock has a market cap of $105.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. 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 (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a boost 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%.

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.