Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Increases Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 14,608.6% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $140.42 on Monday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $102.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $135.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.21.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on BX shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten 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 an average target price of $155.65.

Blackstone 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.