Algebris UK Ltd. Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Algebris UK Ltd. initiated a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter, buying 320,179 shares worth about $49.4 million. The stake represents roughly 2.4% of Algebris’s portfolio and its 6th-largest holding.
• Blackstone’s latest quarterly results topped earnings expectations, reporting $1.36 EPS versus the $1.34 estimate, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $3.43 billion. Analysts now expect the company to earn 5.89 EPS for the full year.
• The stock has drawn mixed Wall Street views, with a current consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $151.05. Blackstone also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.16 per share, equal to a 4.0% annualized yield.

Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 320,179 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $49,375,000. Blackstone makes up about 2.4% of Algebris UK Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,046,859,000 after buying an additional 840,258 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,362,796 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,358,334,000 after buying an additional 412,281 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,251,474,000 after buying an additional 329,379 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,677,997 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $799,236,000 after buying an additional 145,056 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,107,665 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $701,795,000 after buying an additional 416,933 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $138.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $151.05.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $116.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $117.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.92. The company has a market cap of $86.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone and Google launched a joint venture to create a new AI cloud company centered on Google’s Tensor Processing Units, expanding Blackstone’s exposure to AI infrastructure growth. Blackstone Announces Joint Venture with Google to Create New TPU Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Blackstone is committing $5 billion of equity to the venture, signaling a major investment in AI compute capacity and a potential new earnings growth avenue. Blackstone and Google form AI infrastructure joint venture focused on TPU cloud expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary suggests the Google deal is strengthening Blackstone’s competitive position in AI infrastructure and helping fuel investor optimism around the stock. Google and Blackstone to Create New AI Cloud Company. The Stocks Are Rising.
• Positive Sentiment: A large shareholder disclosed a major stock purchase, which can reinforce confidence in Blackstone’s outlook even if it is not the main day-to-day catalyst. Insider Buying: Blackstone NYSE: BX Major Shareholder Purchases 9,486,795 Shares of Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone’s digital infrastructure trust completed the underwriters’ option in full, bringing the IPO proceeds above $2.0 billion; this is supportive for the franchise but is a separate capital-markets event. Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust Announces Full Exercise and Closing of Underwriters Option to Purchase Additional Shares in Initial Public Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its price target to $133 from $140 but kept a Buy rating, which still implies upside despite a more cautious valuation view. Blackstone NYSE: BX Price Target Lowered to $133.00 at TD Cowen
• Negative Sentiment: Blackstone also gave up its pursuit of the €2.5 billion Stroeer deal, a missed acquisition opportunity that may slightly weigh on M&A sentiment. Blackstone gives up pursuit of €2.5 billion Stroeer deal - Bloomberg

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 13,502,092 shares of company stock worth $294,789,896 and have sold 9,128,660 shares worth $46,457,920. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

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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