Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Acquires New Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 23,733 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,793,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $23,384,000. Capital Square LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $278,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $419,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter worth $1,466,000. Finally, Haverford Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $890,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $143.56 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.82 and a 200-day moving average of $122.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on BX. TD Cowen raised their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Argus increased their target price on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.