Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,366,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the purchase, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at $206,039,270.30. This trade represents a 10.75% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $145.15 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $127.99 and a 200-day moving average of $122.43. The company has a market cap of $108.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 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.