Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Acquired by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 141,786 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 13,014 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Blackstone were worth $21,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth $471,000. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,595 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in Blackstone by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,023 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $489,000. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 97,486 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $155.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,048,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,850,287. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $141.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $113.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business'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 owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $156.65.

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.