Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan Grows Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,868 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,484 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $11,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Chapin Davis Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 7,807 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,213,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $502,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,742,000. Finally, Henson Edgewater Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,222,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $142.63 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $130.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 115.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BX. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Argus increased their price objective on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.