Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Purchased by Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 2.4%, now holding 213,584 shares valued at approximately $29 million.
• Blackstone recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.21 per share, surpassing expectations, with revenue of $3.07 billion, reflecting a 32.7% year-over-year increase.
• The firm announced a boosted quarterly dividend of $1.03, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, up from the previous $0.93 per share.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 213,584 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 4,963 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises approximately 1.0% of Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $29,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,469,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 0.6% during the first quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,652,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 0.7% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $169.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $123.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.71. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The firm's 50 day moving average is $154.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.68.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. Blackstone's revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's payout ratio is 110.75%.

About Blackstone

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.

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