Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Invests $1.87 Million in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,849 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,871,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,109,000. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after purchasing an additional 889,286 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 716,319 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $123,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,951 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of BX traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $138.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,208,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,783,808. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $101.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. The business's fifty day moving average is $136.36 and its 200 day moving average is $159.75. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 period last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given 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 dividend yield of 2.68%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten research 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 company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.65.

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.