9,100 Shares in Blackstone Inc. $BX Acquired by Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC

Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 9,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $143.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.78.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, HSBC restated a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone acquired 272,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the purchase, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders acquired 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Corporate 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.