Dearborn Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 10,494 Blackstone Inc. $BX

Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,494 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $143.66 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.50. The company has a market cap of $107.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone bought 272,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,533,512.66. This represents a 3.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.