Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 16,204 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 17.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 106,741 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 16,204 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $14,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Blackstone by 105.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,405 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 6,878 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,109,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,212 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,363,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $1,747,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BX shares. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Blackstone from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $156.65.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of BX stock traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $155.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,048,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,843,324. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $113.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $140.34 and a 200 day moving average of $151.85.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This trade represents 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.