Csenge Advisory Group Takes $916,000 Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,783 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $916,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 3.2%

Blackstone stock opened at $145.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $127.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.43. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $108.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 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 for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of Blackstone 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 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 through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,890.07. Following the transaction, the director owned 42,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,787,065.13. This trade represents a 0.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, 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. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.