OP Asset Management Ltd Makes New $8.62 Million Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 74,945 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $8,618,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on BX shares. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,236,000. The trade was a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $114.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $120.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

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.