DE Burlo Group Inc. Sells 38,703 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• DE Burlo Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 28.2%, holding 98,550 shares valued at approximately $13.78 million, making it their 23rd largest holding.
• Recent insider activity includes John G. Finley selling 25,000 shares for about $3.46 million, while major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. acquired 1.19 million shares worth approximately $30 million.
• Blackstone announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.03 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.32%, up from the previous $0.93.

DE Burlo Group Inc. decreased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 28.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,550 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 38,703 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises about 2.0% of DE Burlo Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. DE Burlo Group Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $13,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 105.4% during 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 stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $63,109,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $1,747,000. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 34.3% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. The trade was 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 purchased 237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, the director owned 37,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 2,849,769 shares of company stock valued at $54,932,307 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of BX traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $176.15. 1,310,158 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,283,885. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.62. 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 $128.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.