Odyssean LLC Makes New $2.85 Million Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Odyssean LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 24,211 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,849,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,112,162,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 636,613 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after acquiring an additional 179,213 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,538,067 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,326,762,000 after purchasing an additional 384,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $1,275,747,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $143.34 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.57. The firm has a market cap of $107.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.07, a PEG ratio of 1.57 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 (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 516,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95.

Blackstone 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.