Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 40.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,043 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 3,203 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 1.2% of Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Davidson Kahn Capital Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BX. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $63,109,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,212 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,747,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $11,533,972,000 after buying an additional 889,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 716,319 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $123,508,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:BX traded up $3.11 on Friday, reaching $151.29. The company had a trading volume of 7,633,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,842,893. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $138.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.39 billion, a PE ratio of 45.57, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors 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 2.46%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citizens Jmp raised 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 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 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, the director now owns 37,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Blackstone 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.