1,633 Shares in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,633 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,262,972 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,442,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290,324 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Blackstone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 36,285,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,766,875,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546,886 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in Blackstone by 12,192.7% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 7,340,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $908,797,000 after acquiring an additional 7,281,128 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,670,645 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $613,581,000 after purchasing an additional 21,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,514,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total transaction of $14,323,104.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BX opened at $154.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.75, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.59 and a 52 week high of $157.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $138.34 and a 200-day moving average of $128.90.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.78.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.