Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Virginia Wealth Management Group increased its Blackstone stake by 346.4% in the first quarter, ending with 39,215 shares valued at about $4.5 million.
• Blackstone has continued to attract heavy institutional interest, with major investors such as Norges Bank, Vanguard, and Capital Research Global Investors also holding large positions. Institutional investors now own about 70% of the company.
• Blackstone reported Q1 EPS of $1.36, topping estimates, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $3.43 billion. The stock also carries a 3.8% dividend yield, though the payout ratio is high at 118.67%.

Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 346.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,215 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 30,430 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up about 2.4% of Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $983,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178,133 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Blackstone by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 476.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $204,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,307 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at $182,236,000. The trade was a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $120.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $89.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $119.68 and its 200 day moving average is $127.44. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for 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 revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given 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 3.8%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. HSBC lowered their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.36.

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.

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