Heard Capital LLC Has $173.47 Million Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Heard Capital LLC grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,159,720 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,325 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises about 9.1% of Heard Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Heard Capital LLC owned 0.16% of Blackstone worth $173,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth $28,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 113,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.69, for a total transaction of $19,852,970.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 695,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,237,547.33. This represents a 13.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James Breyer purchased 13,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $143.86 per share, with a total value of $1,999,654.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 68,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,912,817.16. This represents a 25.27% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 2,950,751 shares of company stock worth $79,050,138 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $151.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.60 billion, a PE ratio of 43.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $150.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.54. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $192.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 22.30%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $173.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $173.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.84.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.