6,512 Shares in Blackstone Inc. $BX Purchased by Live Oak Investment Partners

Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,512 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,113,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Rea LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $231,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 76.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 24,475 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,182,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.6% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 117,572 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,087,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Square Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 0.5% during the third quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC now owns 18,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,205,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Breyer purchased 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $143.86 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,654.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 68,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,912,817.16. The trade was a 25.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $146.92 per share, for a total transaction of $47,602.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 39,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,741,192.84. The trade was a 0.84% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 797,148 shares of company stock worth $24,050,153 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. HSBC reduced their price target on Blackstone from $179.00 to $178.00 in a report on Monday, October 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.25.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $160.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $118.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.99, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.16. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.29. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 22.30%. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.43%.

Blackstone 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.