XTX Topco Ltd Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd has acquired 53,365 shares of Blackstone Inc. during the first quarter, valued at approximately $7.46 million, making it the 14th largest position in their investment portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Blackstone, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which boosted its position by over 14,600%.
• Blackstone recently announced a dividend increase to $1.03 per share, up from $0.93, representing a 2.33% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 100%.

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 53,365 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $7,459,000. Blackstone comprises approximately 0.4% of XTX Topco Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in Blackstone by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,027 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $175.16. The company had a trading volume of 3,474,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,798,444. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.79. The firm has a market cap of $127.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.65.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the transaction, the director owned 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at $105,388,604.62. The trade was a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 2,849,769 shares of company stock worth $54,932,307. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.