Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Bought by Founders Financial Securities LLC

Key Points

• Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its Blackstone stake by 748.2% in Q1, ending with 16,354 shares valued at about $1.91 million.
• Blackstone reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share, with revenue up 10% year over year to $3.43 billion.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.16 per share, implying a 3.7% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy on average.

Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 748.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,354 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 14,426 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 41,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 9,487,234 shares of company stock worth $189,789,892 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:BX opened at $123.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $121.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.24.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 118.67%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.