Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Holdings Raised by TCTC Holdings LLC

Key Points

• TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 239.4%, now owning 39,698 shares worth approximately $5.55 million after purchasing an additional 28,000 shares.
• Blackstone reported a quarterly EPS of $1.21, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.10, with a net revenue of $3.07 billion, a 32.7% increase year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.03 per share, representing a yield of 2.33% and up from the previous dividend of $0.93.

TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 239.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,698 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 28,000 shares during the quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 105.4% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,405 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 6,878 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,109,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,212 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,747,000. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 37,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 2,849,769 shares of company stock worth $54,932,307 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Saturday, July 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $1.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $175.16. 3,474,462 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,299,329. The firm has a market cap of $127.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.09, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $150.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.62.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Blackstone's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS 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 given 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 2.35%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Blackstone 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.