Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Invests $10.74 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 91,257 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $10,738,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $30,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 26,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $140.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $127.46 and a 200-day moving average of $122.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $1.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.