MUFG Securities EMEA plc Buys Shares of 135,599 Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc has acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc., purchasing 135,599 shares valued at approximately $18.95 million, making Blackstone their 18th largest position.
• Several research firms have adjusted their price targets for Blackstone, with Morgan Stanley lowering it to $150 while Evercore ISI raised it to $197, reflecting analysts' mixed outlook on the company's stock.
• Blackstone recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.03 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 2.4%, despite a payout ratio of over 110%.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 135,599 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $18,954,000. Blackstone accounts for about 0.4% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,997,581 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,504,702,000 after buying an additional 1,102,949 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Blackstone by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,016,046 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,209,707,000 after purchasing an additional 681,512 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone by 16.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,292,320 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $739,761,000 after purchasing an additional 742,829 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,195,551 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $895,817,000 after acquiring an additional 144,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,162,867 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $581,886,000 after acquiring an additional 117,724 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.7%

Blackstone stock traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $170.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,609,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,825,000. The company has a market capitalization of $124.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.74, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.04. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. 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 (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 110.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on BX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" 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 company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.12.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $105,388,604.62. The trade was a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total value of $16,736,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 808,757 shares in the company, 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. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.