Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 81.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 367,766 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 165,003 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $42,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jain Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at $9,116,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,270,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $217,083,000 after purchasing an additional 24,237 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 840,401 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $143,582,000 after purchasing an additional 142,479 shares in the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 16,035.1% during the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,746,000 after buying an additional 1,133,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 904,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $154,489,000 after buying an additional 18,339 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $120.12 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $89.23 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.86.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.86.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,236,000. The trade was a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders bought 9,487,234 shares of company stock valued at $189,789,892. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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.