QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,531 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,451 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $17,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Blackstone by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 8,110 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of BX opened at $138.06 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.02. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.