Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 24.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,416 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 0.8% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX traded down $2.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $138.60. 712,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,782,038. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $136.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year 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.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations 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, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, 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. Company 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.