Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Buys New Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,959 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $819,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $141.50 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The firm has a market cap of $106.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.56. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $128.40 and its 200-day moving average is $122.42.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Weiss Ratings raised Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.95.

Blackstone 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.