AQR Capital Management LLC Has $20.05 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 109.3% in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to $20.05 million worth of shares.
• Blackstone recently announced a dividend increase to $1.03 per share, up from $0.93, with an annual yield of 2.2%.
• Despite recent share sales by insiders, institutional investors still own 70% of Blackstone's stock, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 109.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 148,633 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 77,626 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $20,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Blackstone by 105.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,405 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 6,878 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,212 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,747,000. Narwhal Capital Management boosted its position in Blackstone by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 64,614 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,032,000 after acquiring an additional 16,486 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at about $794,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Blackstone stock traded down $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $181.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,356,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,409,331. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.77, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 110.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BX. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.38.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total transaction of $8,829,594.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 737,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $128,015,742.72. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total transaction of $16,736,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 808,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,353,571.52. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 1,189,806 shares of company stock valued at $30,046,627 and have sold 16,871,634 shares valued at $135,328,376. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.