Henson Edgewater Management LLC Takes $2.22 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Henson Edgewater Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,175 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,000. Blackstone comprises 1.2% of Henson Edgewater Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 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. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BX. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.43.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $142.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.92. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities 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 issued a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

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.