LPL Financial LLC Purchases 77,916 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

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 lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its position in Blackstone by 3.5% in the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 143,624 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $20,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,890 shares during the period. one8zero8 LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 1.4% in the first quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 71,244 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,958,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Blackstone by 2.2% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 159,431 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $22,285,000 after acquiring an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 8.4% in the first quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,252 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 9.2% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,980 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 237 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders bought 2,849,769 shares of company stock valued at $54,932,307 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Ten 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.12.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:BX opened at $176.82 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day moving average of $149.73 and a 200 day moving average of $150.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

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 (EPS) 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 net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 dividend yield of 2.33%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.