Assetmark Inc. Grows Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 4.9%, acquiring an additional 3,186 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 68,658 shares valued at approximately $9.6 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Geode Capital Management and Northern Trust Corp, have also increased their stakes in Blackstone, indicating strong institutional interest in the asset manager.
• Blackstone recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.93 to $1.03, reflecting a commitment to shareholder returns despite a payout ratio of 112.05%.

Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,658 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 3,186 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $9,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone bought 1,189,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $105,388,604.62. The trade was a 39.79% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of BX stock traded down $1.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $173.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 888,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,275,120. The company has a market cap of $126.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $151.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.12.

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.