PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,184,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,692 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $165,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BX. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 475,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the acquisition, the director owned 37,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.12.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:BX opened at $170.42 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $152.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.70.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The business’s revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

About Blackstone

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.