Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd purchased a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 23,733 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,793,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in Blackstone by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.5% in the third quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BX. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $1,379,685.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,359,783.04. This trade represents a 12.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, 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. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.1%

BX stock opened at $143.56 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $128.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.44. The stock has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

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.