American Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires 43,896 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• American Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by an astonishing 1,270.5%, owning 47,351 shares valued at approximately $6.62 million.
• Several other institutional investors also noticeably boosted their positions in Blackstone, with FMR LLC leading by increasing its stake by 38.8% during the fourth quarter.
• Blackstone recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.21, surpassing expectations and marking a 32.7% year-over-year revenue increase, while also announcing a dividend increase from $0.93 to $1.03 per share.

American Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 1,270.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,351 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 43,896 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for 2.8% of American Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. American Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX traded down $2.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.42. The company had a trading volume of 3,662,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,887,348. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.68. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.81, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

About Blackstone

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.