MUFG Securities EMEA plc Makes New Investment in 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 purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 135,599 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $18,954,000. Blackstone makes up 0.4% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.7% in the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, CAO David Payne sold 9,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.97, for a total value of $1,597,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,261,325.36. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total transaction of $16,736,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 808,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,353,571.52. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.7%

BX stock traded up $3.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $176.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,729,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,234,908. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $156.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.08. The company has a market capitalization of $128.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.52, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.71. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during 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 revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 110.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased 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, July 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.12.

Blackstone Company 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.