Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 254.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,783 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 3,434 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 worth $11,533,972,000 after buying an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,341,300 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,637,266,000 after acquiring an additional 444,887 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Blackstone by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,016,046 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,209,707,000 after acquiring an additional 681,512 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Blackstone by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,987,702 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,032,400,000 after purchasing an additional 371,677 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $974,448,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.
Blackstone Price Performance
Shares of BX stock opened at $148.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $108.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.62, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $138.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.90.
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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.
Blackstone Cuts Dividend
The business also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages recently commented on BX. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.65.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Blackstone
Insider Activity at Blackstone
In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Blackstone
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report).
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