Colonial Trust Advisors Purchases 1,604 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

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Colonial Trust Advisors increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,768 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors' holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,961,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 146.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 327,848 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $56,528,000 after purchasing an additional 194,634 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,255,479 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $216,472,000 after purchasing an additional 4,513 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 111.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 53,310 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,192,000 after purchasing an additional 28,103 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX traded up $6.8030 during trading on Friday, reaching $170.2430. 5,187,162 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,648,507. The company's 50-day moving average is $161.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.76. The company has a market cap of $125.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BX. Barclays upped their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Saturday, July 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $135,353,571.52. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 222 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $170.29 per share, for a total transaction of $37,804.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,599,248.37. The trade was a 0.58% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 1,189,806 shares of company stock worth $30,046,627 and have sold 16,850,134 shares worth $131,641,986. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.