DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Trims Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 170,795 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 9,249 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Blackstone stock traded down $1.53 on Friday, hitting $162.53. 1,453,214 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,876,223. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $143.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.07. The company has a market capitalization of $118.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.65.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Blackstone from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Blackstone from $137.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $161.29.

Blackstone Company 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.