Conway Capital Management Inc. Invests $2.79 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Conway Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 23,675 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,786,000. Blackstone makes up approximately 1.2% of Conway Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BX. Barclays increased their price objective on Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price 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. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This represents a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of BX opened at $140.87 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

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.