Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Acquired by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 14.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 107,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,938 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in Blackstone by 462.6% during the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 8,642 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 7,106 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at about $244,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $248,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 30,434 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 6,186.1% in the 1st quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,263 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $124.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $119.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.29. The company has a market cap of $92.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.52.

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.