Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Insider Vikrant Sawhney Sells 30,000 Shares

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.9%

BX opened at $136.03 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $122.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.17. The company has a market capitalization of $101.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone by 1.2% in the 4th 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. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,065,374,000 after buying an additional 636,613 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after acquiring an additional 179,213 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Blackstone by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,538,067 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,326,762,000 after purchasing an additional 384,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on BX. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.