Wills Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Wills Financial Group LLC has made a new investment in Blackstone Inc., acquiring 5,086 shares valued at approximately $711,000 during the first quarter.
• Blackstone recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.03 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.12 and a 2.4% yield.
• Blackstone reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21, surpassing consensus estimates by $0.11, with revenue up 32.7% year-over-year.

Wills Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,086 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sfmg LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 0.7% in the first quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 10,981 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.8% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 16,707 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the first quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 32,830 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,589,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 22.8% in the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 31.4% in the first quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,901 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of BX opened at $170.42 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

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 net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change 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 currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $105,388,604.62. This trade represents a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Saturday, July 19th. Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.12.

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.

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