Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Blackstone (NYSE:BX)

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 27,322 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 52% compared to the average volume of 18,001 put options.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $1,379,685.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,359,783.04. This trade represents a 12.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BX. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Brogan Financial Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.5% during the third quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:BX opened at $143.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $107.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $129.88 and a 200 day moving average of $122.68. Blackstone has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. 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.