UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Increases Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 188.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,998 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 11,108 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,530 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,628,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 763.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 233 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,915 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $119.48 per share, for a total transaction of $26,166.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,445 shares in the company, valued at $4,115,488.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $119.48 per share, with a total value of $26,166.12. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,115,488.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Trading Down 4.2 %

NYSE BX traded down $5.99 on Wednesday, hitting $137.63. 4,497,042 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,552,665. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.59 and a twelve month high of $145.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 117.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.56.

Blackstone Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.