Ground Swell Capital LLC Takes $203,000 Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Inc. worth approximately $203,000, purchasing 1,449 shares of the asset manager's stock during Q1.
• Blackstone recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share, up from $0.93, reflecting a yield of 2.3% with a payout ratio of 110.75%.
• Analysts have varied ratings on Blackstone, with the average target price set at $170.12 and ten analysts recommending a hold while nine have a buy rating.

Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,449 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $176.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.47, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $157.68 and a 200-day moving average of $150.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 110.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $105,388,604.62. This trade represents a 39.79% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $135,353,571.52. This represents a 11.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,189,806 shares of company stock worth $30,046,627. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Saturday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.12.

Blackstone 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.

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