New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $124.42 Million Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 890,134 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,523 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.12% of Blackstone worth $124,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Platform Technology Partners boosted its stake in Blackstone by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 22,432 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,465 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department boosted its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 18,044 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 9,695 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Focused Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in Blackstone by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 49,467 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,915,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 11,848 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company'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 value of $3,461,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, the director owned 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $137.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.29.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $1.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $162.21. The stock had a trading volume of 3,976,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,889,852. 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 $118.36 billion, a PE ratio of 48.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The company's 50 day moving average is $143.68 and its 200-day moving average is $150.80.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

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.