Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 371,142 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,250 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for approximately 23.6% of Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $43,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chapin Davis Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 12.3% in the second quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 7,807 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 8,297 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 4.0% during the second quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 6,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 33.5% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 9,482 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 42.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,191 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,905,000 after buying an additional 4,838 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Argus raised their target price on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.9%

BX opened at $133.38 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $99.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.95.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 10,825,959 shares of company stock worth $224,789,900 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.