Raiffeisen Bank International AG Reduces Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,630 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,689 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 26,600.0% during the second quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,890.07. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 42,189 shares in the company, valued at $5,787,065.13. This trade represents a 0.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 516,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,911,260.87. This represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.43.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX stock opened at $136.07 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $132.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued 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 yield of 3.8%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

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.