69,000 Shares in Blackstone Inc. $BX Acquired by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co opened a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter, buying 69,000 shares worth about $10.6 million.
• Blackstone reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $1.36 EPS versus the $1.34 consensus, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $3.43 billion.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.16 per share and continued to see mixed analyst sentiment, with several firms cutting targets or ratings and the consensus rating remaining Hold.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 69,000 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $10,636,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 125,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,375,000. This represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896 and sold 7,532,518 shares valued at $30,496,500. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $116.06 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $118.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.80. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. 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 has a market cap of $86.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $173.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.05.

Blackstone Profile

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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