Privium Fund Management UK Ltd Invests $3.19 Million in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Privium Fund Management UK Ltd has invested approximately $3.19 million in Blackstone Inc., acquiring 21,600 shares, which now represent 2.5% of its portfolio.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Blackstone Inc., with JMP Securities raising theirs to $195.00 and Wells Fargo increasing it to $167.00, reflecting a mostly positive outlook on the stock.
• Blackstone recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.93 to $1.03 per share, with a total annualized payout of $4.12 and a dividend yield of 2.4%.

Privium Fund Management UK Ltd bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 21,600 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,189,000. Blackstone accounts for approximately 2.5% of Privium Fund Management UK Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,184,258 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $165,536,000 after acquiring an additional 29,692 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in Blackstone by 37.6% during the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 144,956 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $20,262,000 after buying an additional 39,587 shares in the last quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 40.7% during the first quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its position in Blackstone by 16.3% during the first quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 35,497 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,962,000 after buying an additional 4,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.3% in the first quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 59,697 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $8,344,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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 report on Friday, July 25th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.12.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $2.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.42. 3,662,374 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,070,523. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $152.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.49. The company has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.71. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the purchase, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at $105,388,604.62. This represents a 39.79% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.