Randolph Co Inc Boosts Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Randolph Co Inc lifted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319,822 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 186 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises 5.2% of Randolph Co Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Randolph Co Inc’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $44,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $239,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 14,608.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,322,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $184,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,533,972,000 after purchasing an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $140.68 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $136.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.23.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.65.

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.