Welch Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Welch Group LLC increased its Blackstone stake by 20.6% in the first quarter, adding 13,824 shares and bringing its total holdings to 80,773 shares valued at about $9.29 million.
• Blackstone reported solid first-quarter results, with EPS of $1.36 beating estimates and revenue rising 10% year over year to $3.43 billion, while analysts still expect 5.9 EPS for the year.
• The stock has seen mixed insider and analyst signals: a major shareholder sold 7.48 million shares, while analyst opinions remain split with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.86.

Welch Group LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 20.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,773 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 13,824 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $9,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its position in Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $115.66 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $120.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.22. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The firm has a market cap of $85.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citizens Jmp decreased 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.86.

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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