Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Purchased by Whittier Trust Co.

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Blackstone by 2.3% in Q4, buying 7,871 shares to hold 354,189 shares valued at about $57.61 million.
• Blackstone beat Q4 estimates, reporting $1.75 EPS vs. $1.54 expected and $4.36 billion in revenue (up 41.4% year‑over‑year vs. $3.69B expected).
• Dividend hike: Blackstone increased its quarterly dividend to $1.49 ($5.96 annualized) for a 4.7% yield, though the payout ratio stands at 153.6%.

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 354,189 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 7,871 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $57,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Family CFO Inc acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter worth $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $128.10 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The stock has a market cap of $95.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.02, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. Blackstone's revenue was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $1.49 per share. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Blackstone's payout ratio is 153.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at $487,129,914.25. This represents a 18.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BX. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $179.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $158.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $158.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.55.

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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