ARS Investment Partners LLC Increases Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its Blackstone stake by 57.9% in the first quarter, buying 141,340 additional shares and bringing its total to 385,546 shares worth about $44.3 million.
• Blackstone continues to attract major institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning about 70% of the stock; the article also notes large positions held by Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and others.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on BX, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.86, while the company also reported Q1 EPS of $1.36, slightly above estimates.

ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 57.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,546 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 141,340 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up about 2.3% of ARS Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Blackstone worth $44,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after buying an additional 179,213 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after purchasing an additional 329,379 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BX. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Argus decreased their price target on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.86.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders bought 9,487,234 shares of company stock worth $189,789,892. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of BX opened at $123.78 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $121.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.35.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.67%.

About Blackstone

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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