DRW Securities LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,610 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,561,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $158.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $113.00 billion, a PE ratio of 55.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $139.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.41. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.59 and a 1-year high of $161.25.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BX. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.