Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 34,323 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Blackstone by 4.2% in the first quarter, buying 34,323 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 858,964 shares worth about $98.8 million.
• Insider activity was mixed: Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares, while director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares. Over the last quarter, insiders were net buyers, with 10.25 million shares purchased worth roughly $209.8 million.
• Blackstone reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS estimates with $1.36 per share and posting 10% revenue growth year over year. The stock was up 2% and analysts currently rate it a consensus Moderate Buy with a $146.52 average price target.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 858,964 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 34,323 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Blackstone worth $98,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1,034.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,940 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 12,711 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 100,951 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $15,561,000 after buying an additional 8,321 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 249,009 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,543,000 after buying an additional 19,603 shares during the period. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,856,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 899,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 41,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Blackstone from $173.00 to $161.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.52.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.0%

Blackstone stock opened at $127.03 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The company has a market cap of $94.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Blackstone's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 118.67%.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc NYSE: BX is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone's business is organized around several principal investment platforms.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.