Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 5.4% during the first quarter, owning a total of 373,390 shares valued at approximately $52 million.
• Blackstone reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21, surpassing estimates of $1.10, with revenues of $3.07 billion, a 32.7% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $0.93, with a current dividend yield of 2.3%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 373,390 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 19,171 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Blackstone worth $52,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Prudential PLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 12,604 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Blackstone by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 224,081 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $31,264,000 after acquiring an additional 17,712 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 275.8% in the first quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 38,932 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,442,000 after purchasing an additional 28,573 shares during the last quarter. Bulltick Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth about $1,690,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Dbs Bank raised Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX traded down $3.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.61. 3,681,204 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,651,876. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.87.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.75%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, 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 acquired at an average cost of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at $105,388,604.62. The trade was a 39.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total value of $16,736,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 808,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,353,571.52. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,189,806 shares of company stock valued at $30,046,627 and have sold 16,850,134 shares valued at $131,641,986. Corporate 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.