United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Grows Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• United Super Pty Ltd increased its Blackstone stake by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 36,637 shares to reach 376,390 shares worth about $58.0 million.
• Blackstone reported Q1 EPS of $1.36, slightly above analyst estimates, while revenue came in at $3.43 billion versus expectations of $3.45 billion and rose 10% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.16 per share, but its payout ratio is high at 118.67%; meanwhile, Wall Street currently has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $151.05.

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 376,390 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 36,637 shares during the quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund owned about 0.05% of Blackstone worth $58,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its holdings in Blackstone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.8% during the third quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,335 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,686,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.6%

BX opened at $116.06 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $118.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BX. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $138.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.05.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This represents a 99.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 12,355,303 shares of company stock worth $264,789,896 and have sold 7,532,518 shares worth $30,496,500. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Blackstone

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.

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