Core Alternative Capital Boosts Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Core Alternative Capital boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,114 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Core Alternative Capital’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 12,192.7% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 7,340,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $908,797,000 after purchasing an additional 7,281,128 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 36,285,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,766,875,000 after buying an additional 2,546,886 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $290,514,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 19,048.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,883,409 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $247,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blackstone by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,262,972 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,442,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290,324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $154.94 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. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.59 and a 1-year high of $161.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.75, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $141.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.47.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on BX shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $163.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.78.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was 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 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 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.