Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Acquired by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 300,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,552 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $35,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $6,112,162,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Blackstone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $1,364,373,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,275,747,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 371 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.17 per share, with a total value of $50,890.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,787,065.13. This trade represents a 0.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $1,379,685.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,359,783.04. The trade was a 12.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 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 Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $136.07 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $132.74 and a 200-day moving average of $123.14. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.44, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.44%.

Blackstone Company 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.