WealthPLAN Partners LLC Acquires 2,357 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• WealthPLAN Partners LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 13.4%, acquiring an additional 2,357 shares which brings their total holdings to 20,011 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million.
• Blackstone recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03, up from $0.93, with an annualized payout of $4.12 and a dividend yield of 2.4%.
• In earnings reports, Blackstone reported an EPS of $1.21, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 32.7% year-over-year to $3.07 billion.

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lifted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,011 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 2,357 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,469,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,819 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,652,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.8%

Blackstone stock traded up $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $168.93. 2,278,720 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,909,915. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $155.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.28. The stock has a market cap of $123.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 110.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Saturday, July 19th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone acquired 1,189,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at $105,388,604.62. This trade represents a 39.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 owned 808,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,353,571.52. The trade was a 11.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Company 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.