Insider Buying: Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Major Shareholder Acquires 2,868,069 Shares of Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 2,868,069 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $75,000,004.35. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, February 23rd, Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 1,146,789 shares of Blackstone stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.16 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.24.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of BX traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $109.31. 8,762,547 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,431,519. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company has a market cap of $81.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.21.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $1.49 dividend. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 153.61%.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Blackstone from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $199.00 to $189.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.86.

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.