Security National Bank Has $6.84 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Security National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,959 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for about 1.3% of Security National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Security National Bank’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $143.62 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.16. The company has a market capitalization of $104.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.65.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 112.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.