Regents of The University of California Invests $74.18 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Regents of the University of California purchased 645,120 Blackstone shares worth approximately $74.18 million, making BX about 2.5% of its portfolio and its sixth-largest holding.
• Blackstone reported quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share, exceeding the $1.34 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, equivalent to a 4.0% annualized yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $147.95.

Regents of The University of California bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 645,120 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $74,182,000. Blackstone makes up about 2.5% of Regents of The University of California's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Regents of The University of California owned about 0.09% of Blackstone as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $128.18 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $121.67 and its 200 day moving average is $123.87. The company has a market cap of $95.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 103.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.95.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased 10,825,959 shares of company stock valued at $224,789,900 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.