WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Has $4 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 26.5%, owning 28,621 shares worth approximately $4 million after purchasing an additional 5,998 shares in the first quarter.
• Blackstone's recent quarterly dividend was raised to $1.03 per share, up from $0.93, reflecting a 2.4% yield based on the current share price.
• Analysts have varying outlooks on Blackstone, with target prices ranging between $147 and $197, and a consensus rating of "Hold" according to MarketBeat.

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,621 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 5,998 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter worth $28,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone acquired 1,189,532 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $105,388,604.62. This represents a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 808,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,353,571.52. This represents a 11.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JMP Securities upped 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $169.43 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $154.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.68. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Blackstone's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's payout ratio is 110.75%.

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.

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