Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,655 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 878,391 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 10,655 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Blackstone worth $122,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $239,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 14,608.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,322,598 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $184,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313,606 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,533,972,000 after acquiring an additional 889,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:BX traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.13. 2,048,009 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,857,888. The firm has a market cap of $113.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $141.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.28.

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 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 business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $156.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.