Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.29 Per Share

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BXGet Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a dividend of 1.29 per share by the asset manager on Monday, August 10th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This is a 11.2% increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16.

Blackstone has raised its dividend by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years. Blackstone has a dividend payout ratio of 80.8% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities analysts expect Blackstone to earn $7.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.1%.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:BX opened at $128.18 on Friday. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $121.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $95.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BXGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,236,000. The trade was a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 10,825,959 shares of company stock valued at $224,789,900 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at about $164,597,000. Amundi raised its position in Blackstone by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 476.1% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $204,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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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.

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Dividend History for Blackstone (NYSE:BX)

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