Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Makes New $1.31 Million Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,616 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,314,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. 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. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.65.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $134.78. 1,945,247 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,506,645. The company has a market cap of $96.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $130.37 and its 200 day moving average is $126.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $145.16.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.90%.

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.