Welch Group LLC Purchases 13,824 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Welch Group LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BXFree Report) by 20.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 80,773 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 13,824 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $9,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Jain Global LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $9,116,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,270,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $217,083,000 after purchasing an additional 24,237 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 840,401 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $143,582,000 after purchasing an additional 142,479 shares in the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Blackstone by 16,035.1% during the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $194,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Blackstone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 904,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $154,489,000 after buying an additional 18,339 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of BX stock opened at $115.66 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $120.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.22. The company has a market cap of $85.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Dbs Bank raised Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on BX

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $206,039,270.30. This represents a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Profile

(Free Report)

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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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BXFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Blackstone (NYSE:BX)

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