Flossbach Von Storch SE Makes New $5.29 Million Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 45,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $5,295,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 371 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.17 per share, with a total value of $50,890.07. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 42,189 shares in the company, valued at $5,787,065.13. The trade was a 0.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $145.15 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $127.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.43. The company has a market cap of $108.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09.

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 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share 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 dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. 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 currently 115.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Argus upped their target price on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.