Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 13,687 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,879 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 13,687 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $35,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $136.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $138.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.07.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $154.82.

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.

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