First Financial Bankshares Inc Raises Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BXFree Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 734,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,108 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for about 2.3% of First Financial Bankshares Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $113,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $120.67 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BXGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 118.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank raised Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.86.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on BX

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This trade represents a 99.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BXFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Blackstone (NYSE:BX)

Receive News & Ratings for Blackstone Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Blackstone and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.