Henson Edgewater Management LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Henson Edgewater Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 15,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,000. Blackstone makes up 1.2% of Henson Edgewater Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth $6,112,162,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $1,364,373,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $1,275,747,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at about $605,267,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $514,736,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.43.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $142.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.92. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The stock has a market cap of $107.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.91, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

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.