Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Acquired by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,369,045 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,396 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $211,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after buying an additional 3,178,133 shares in the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Blackstone by 16,035.1% during the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,746,000 after buying an additional 1,133,197 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 476.1% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $204,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of BX opened at $127.89 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $120.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.70. The firm has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 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) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $75,000,004.35. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at $487,129,914.25. This represents a 18.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the acquisition, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders bought 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone 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.