Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Bought by DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,195,551 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 144,926 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for 0.9% of DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned approximately 0.72% of Blackstone worth $895,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $63,109,000. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 214.2% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 15,205 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,053,000 after acquiring an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 1.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $139.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,113,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,760,165. The company has a 50 day moving average of $136.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.27. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. 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 firm has a market cap of $101.72 billion, a PE ratio of 38.40, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts predict 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. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is 112.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $154.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,660,538 shares of company stock worth $24,981,930. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone

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.