CGN Advisors LLC Buys 3,668 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

CGN Advisors LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,908 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,668 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in Blackstone by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,703,000 after buying an additional 8,655 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 10,825,959 shares of company stock valued at $224,789,900 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $137.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.34. The company has a market capitalization of $101.90 billion, a PE ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

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.