Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Blackstone Put Options (NYSE:BX)

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BXGet Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 27,322 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 52% compared to the average volume of 18,001 put options.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $143.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,932,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,414,894. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BXGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 115.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on BX

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.17 per share, with a total value of $50,890.07. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 42,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,787,065.13. This represents a 0.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,533,512.66. This represents a 3.23% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter worth $30,000. NBH Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

(Get Free Report)

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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