Insider Buying: Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Major Shareholder Acquires $7,126,861.88 in Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE BX traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $143.66. 2,016,996 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,462,198. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.82 and a 200 day moving average of $122.44. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $107.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 100,951 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,561,000 after buying an additional 8,321 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,340,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $7,303,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 92.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 807,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $92,817,000 after buying an additional 387,109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.95.

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.