Insider Buying: Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Major Shareholder Purchases 765,111 Shares

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at $206,039,270.30. This represents a 10.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $7.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.90. The stock had a trading volume of 7,756,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,085,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The stock has a market cap of $83.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.86.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Argus cut their target price on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

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.