Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by ST Germain D J Co. Inc.

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lowered its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 88,652 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,622 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $239,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 14,608.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,322,598 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $184,873,000 after buying an additional 1,313,606 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,533,972,000 after acquiring an additional 889,286 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $137.66. 2,440,478 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,787,386. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $135.57 and a 200 day moving average of $158.27.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% 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.

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.