Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $143.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.78. The stock has a market cap of $107.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. 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 Blackstone 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Thirteen 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.43.

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.