Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 272,652 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $47,011,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $7,940,000. Lionshead Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $922,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its position in Blackstone by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 38,122 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,573,000 after acquiring an additional 14,394 shares during the last quarter. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $1,446,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $765,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.0%

BX stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $146.69. 3,788,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,775,198. The firm's 50 day moving average is $137.25 and its 200 day moving average is $161.55. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. 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 cap of $107.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 1,660,538 shares of company stock valued at $24,981,930 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $154.82.

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.