Blackstone Inc. $BX Stake Increased by L & S Advisors Inc

L & S Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 441.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,116 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,791 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 1.2% of L & S Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $133.02 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.28, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $1.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 153.61%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 384,468 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.01 per share, for a total transaction of $10,000,012.68. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 16,525,117 shares in the company, valued at $429,818,293.17. This represents a 2.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,610. This trade represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Blackstone from $166.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $195.00 price target on Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $176.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.76.

Blackstone Company 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.