Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX – Free Report) by 108.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,388 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 5,396 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Blackstone by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Blackstone by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares during the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 16,035.1% during the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $194,746,000 after buying an additional 1,133,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Blackstone by 476.1% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $204,193,000 after buying an additional 1,094,307 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
BX has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.86.
Insider Activity at Blackstone
In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 9,487,234 shares of company stock valued at $189,789,892 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Blackstone Price Performance
BX stock opened at $123.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $121.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09.
Blackstone (NYSE:BX – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.
Blackstone Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.67%.
About Blackstone
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.
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