KTF Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• KTF Investments LLC initiated a new position in Blackstone (NYSE:BX) in Q4, buying 31,393 shares worth approximately $4.84 million.
• Significant insider activity occurred: a major holder sold 1,596,142 shares for about $15.96 million, while another insider bought 2,868,069 shares for roughly $75 million, increasing its stake to 18,628,295 shares (an 18.2% rise).
• Blackstone slightly beat the quarter (EPS $1.36 vs. $1.34; revenue $3.62B vs. $3.45B), analysts are split but the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $151.73, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.16 (annualized $4.64; yield 3.9%, payout ratio 152%).

KTF Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 31,393 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $4,839,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,362,796 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,358,334,000 after acquiring an additional 412,281 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,251,474,000 after buying an additional 329,379 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,677,997 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $799,236,000 after buying an additional 145,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,107,665 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $701,795,000 after buying an additional 416,933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 2,868,069 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on Blackstone from $138.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays cut their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $173.00 price target on Blackstone in a research note on Friday. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.73.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $120.50 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $116.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The company has a market cap of $89.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.74.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 152.43%.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc NYSE: BX is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone's business is organized around several principal investment platforms.

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