Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $4.14 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 35,221 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $4,144,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $143.56 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $107.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.57.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, 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 is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 516,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.