Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,797,947 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,840 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $277,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its position in Blackstone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,686,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 9,487,234 shares of company stock valued at $189,789,892. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.86.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:BX opened at $123.78 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $121.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.35. The stock has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. Blackstone’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.67%.

Blackstone 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.