21,101 Shares in Blackstone Inc. $BX Acquired by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 21,101 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,483,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $143.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $108.04 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $126.51 and a 200-day moving average of $122.51. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $206,039,270.30. This trade represents a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.