Kampmann Melissa S. Decreases Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Kampmann Melissa S. reduced its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 23.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,260 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,330 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for approximately 1.3% of Kampmann Melissa S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Kampmann Melissa S.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 26,600.0% during the second quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.43.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $137.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.05. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.Blackstone’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.