OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Acquires 7,975 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• OMERS Administration Corp increased its Blackstone stake by 27.1% in the first quarter, purchasing 7,975 shares and bringing its holdings to 37,419 shares valued at approximately $4.3 million.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.52 beating estimates of $1.34 and revenue rising 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29, implying a 3.9% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $147.76, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $132.42.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 27.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,419 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 7,975 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 100,951 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,561,000 after purchasing an additional 8,321 shares during the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1,034.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,940 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,149,000 after buying an additional 12,711 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 249,009 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,543,000 after acquiring an additional 19,603 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the period. Finally, Benson Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,856,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.9%

BX stock opened at $132.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.36. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BX. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.76.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc NYSE: BX is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone's business is organized around several principal investment platforms.

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