Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Position Boosted by SouthState Corp

Key Points

• SouthState Corp increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 206.6% during the first quarter, owning 126,867 shares valued at approximately $17.73 million.
• Blackstone announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, marking an increase from the previous $0.93, with a current annualized yield of 2.4%.
• Blackstone reported $3.07 billion in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and raised its earnings per share forecast to 5.87 for the current year.

SouthState Corp increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 206.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,867 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 85,491 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp's holdings in Blackstone were worth $17,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX traded up $3.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $173.73. 4,180,483 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,829,399. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $128.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.70, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.08.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 110.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone acquired 1,189,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,388,604.62. This represents a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total value of $16,736,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 808,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,353,571.52. The trade was a 11.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Saturday, July 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.