Marietta Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Marietta Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,995 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Marietta Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $7,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Blackstone stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $137.45. 4,295,546 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,808,279. The firm's 50-day moving average is $137.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.86. The company has a market capitalization of $100.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought 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 of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BX. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.65.

About Blackstone

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.