Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Purchased by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,888 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 18,637 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BX. Citigroup reduced their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction 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 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, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,005. This trade 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 company insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE BX traded up $2.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $138.97. 984,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,541,114. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.04.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

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.