Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Position Raised by United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund

Key Points

• United Super Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 50.9% in the first quarter, owning a total of 332,356 shares valued at approximately $46.5 million.
• Blackstone's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations with an EPS of $1.21, beating the consensus estimate by $0.11, and revenue rose 32.7% year-over-year.
• The firm has declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.93 to $1.03 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%.

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 50.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,356 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 112,154 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises about 1.9% of United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund's holdings in Blackstone were worth $46,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $20,543,000. Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 45,709 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $7,881,000 after purchasing an additional 13,882 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $587,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at $105,388,604.62. This trade represents a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Saturday, July 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock traded down $2.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.42. 3,662,374 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,070,523. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.49. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.71. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

About Blackstone

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.