25,000 Shares in Blackstone Inc. $BX Purchased by Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co

Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 25,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,942,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $145.15 on Thursday. 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. The company has a market cap of $108.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.43.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.44%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

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.