Equitable Holdings Inc. Invests $12.65 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 107,490 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $12,648,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, July 20th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. The trade was a 3.23% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.17 per share, with a total value of $50,890.07. Following the transaction, the director owned 42,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,787,065.13. This trade represents a 0.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.3%

BX stock opened at $143.62 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.78. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm 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%.Blackstone’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 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.