Baxter Bros Inc. Boosts Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Baxter Bros Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 71.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,948 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 6,230 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 11,035 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of BX traded up $2.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $140.22. 809,613 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,779,809. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.96. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.65.

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.