Nuveen LLC Makes New $151.52 Million Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a significant investment of approximately $151.52 million in Blackstone Inc., acquiring over 1 million shares during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a mixed outlook on Blackstone, with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12, indicating cautious optimism.
• Blackstone recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.03, reflecting a positive change in their financial outlook.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,084,019 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $151,524,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.15% of Blackstone as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO David Payne sold 9,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.97, for a total value of $1,597,718.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 54,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,261,325.36. The trade was a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone acquired 1,189,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $105,388,604.62. This represents a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,189,806 shares of company stock worth $30,046,627. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.12.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $174.76. 2,834,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,244,855. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $128.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.98, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.71. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $157.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 110.75%.

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.