Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 7.3%, acquiring an additional 77,916 shares, bringing its total ownership to 1,145,835 shares valued at approximately $160.17 million.
• Blackstone recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03, up from the previous $0.93, reflecting a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings on Blackstone’s stock, with target prices ranging from $150 to $197, and a consensus rating of "Hold" based on recent reports.

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,145,835 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 77,916 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.16% of Blackstone worth $160,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 65,513 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,296,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,027 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $716,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, July 25th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.12.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at $105,388,604.62. The trade was a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the acquisition, the director owned 37,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX traded down $3.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $169.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,896,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,276,292. The stock has a market cap of $123.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The business's revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.