PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 29,692 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 29,692 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.18 million shares valued at $165.5 million.
• Blackstone reported earnings of $1.21 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations and achieving a 32.7% year-over-year revenue growth to $3.07 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.03 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.4% and a 100% payout ratio.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,184,258 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 29,692 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Blackstone worth $165,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $170.42 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $152.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.68. The company has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a PE ratio of 45.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.70. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The business's revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.12.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone acquired 1,189,532 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $105,388,604.62. This trade represents a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business'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 owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.

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