Vestcor Inc Has $3.69 Million Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 99.1%, owning 26,370 shares valued at approximately $3.69 million as of the end of the 1st quarter.
• Blackstone Inc. reported robust earnings with an EPS of $1.21 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a revenue increase of 32.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.03, representing an annualized yield of 2.35% and a payout ratio of 100%.

Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 99.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,370 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 13,126 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 65,513 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,296,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,543,000. Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $447,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 49.8% during the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 334 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Blackstone from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE BX traded down $2.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.42. The stock had a trading volume of 3,662,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,887,348. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $152.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.85. The firm has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.70. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone bought 1,189,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the transaction, the director owned 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.