Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Acquires Shares of 8,010 Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired 8,010 shares of Blackstone Inc. valued at approximately $1.12 million during the first quarter.
• Several large investors significantly increased their positions in Blackstone during the same period, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by an astonishing 14,608.6%.
• Blackstone recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.03, which represents a yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 110.75%.

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,010 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,120,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 20,641 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Finally, Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,446,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone bought 1,189,532 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was 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 directly owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,388,604.62. This trade represents a 39.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total transaction of $8,829,594.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 737,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $128,015,742.72. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 1,189,806 shares of company stock valued at $30,046,627 and have sold 16,871,634 shares valued at $135,328,376. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $2.48 on Friday, hitting $181.44. 3,356,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,409,331. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $170.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.77.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 110.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BX. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Company 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.