Baldwin Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Baldwin Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 24.5%, now owning 12,781 shares valued at approximately $1.79 million.
• Blackstone recently reported earning per share (EPS) of $1.21, surpassing estimates, alongside a notable 32.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $3.07 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, increasing from the previous $0.93, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.32%.

Baldwin Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 24.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,781 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,140 shares during the quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $239,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 14,608.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,322,598 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $184,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,606 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,990,238 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $515,577,000 after purchasing an additional 835,170 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its position in Blackstone by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 1,984,892 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $342,235,000 after purchasing an additional 753,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Blackstone by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,016,046 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,209,707,000 after purchasing an additional 681,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone acquired 1,189,532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of BX traded down $2.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $172.93. 1,483,211 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,279,198. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. 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 capitalization of $126.18 billion, a PE ratio of 46.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $151.14 and a 200 day moving average of $150.79.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 110.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BX. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.12.

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.