Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Bought by OLD Second National Bank of Aurora

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,032 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,244 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises 1.3% of OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,972,648 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,244,379,000 after acquiring an additional 880,745 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,738,986 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,417,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367,581 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,429,749 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $841,783,000 after buying an additional 322,860 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $708,859,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 13,816.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,623,868 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,744,370,000 after acquiring an additional 3,597,828 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $119.48 per share, for a total transaction of $26,166.12. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 34,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,115,488.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Argus increased their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE BX traded up $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $128.96. 1,050,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,413,504. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.16 billion, a PE ratio of 44.74, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.59 and a 12 month high of $133.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.98. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 117.31%.

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.