Ruth Porat, a director at Blackstone (BX), recently bought 376 shares. The buy increased her stake by 1%, and came to a total cost of $61,926.
Porat is a quarterly buyer of shares, and last bought in November, picking up 217 shares at a cost of less than $37,000. Otherwise, the company’s general council sold off 9% of his holdings for $7.45 million. Going further back, there’s been a similar mix of buyers and sellers.
Overall, Blackstone insiders own 1.2% of shares.
The asset manager is up 32% over the past year, beating out the overall performance of the S&P 500. Rising asset prices and increased trading activity have helped drive Blackstone’s valuation higher.
Operationally, the company has had a banner year, with revenues up 118% and earnings growth surging by a massive 364%.
That said, Blackstone is expensive by most measures, with shares trading at 45 times earnings, and 15 times their price-to-book value.
Action to take: Blackstone have been declining since peaking in November, and appear to be finishing up a head-and-shoulders pattern. Investors may want to hold out for a pullback under $150 per share before they start buying.
At current prices, Blackstone pays a 2.4% dividend, and patient investors can get a higher starting yield.
For traders, with shares currently trending lower, the May $140 calls, last trading for about $2.50, could see mid-double-digit returns in the months ahead.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.