Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Acquires Shares of 110,072 Blackstone Inc. $BX

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 110,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $12,952,000. Blackstone accounts for approximately 2.6% of Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. United Bank grew its holdings in Blackstone by 14.7% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,703,000 after acquiring an additional 8,655 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BX. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.95.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $143.94 on Monday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.51. The stock has a market cap of $108.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.55. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity 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 shares were 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 $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,890.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,787,065.13. The trade was a 0.89% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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.