Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 243.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,325 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 94,464 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $18,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $63,109,000. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $2,102,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,212 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $1,747,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 3.1%

NYSE BX traded down $4.42 on Friday, reaching $136.37. 3,021,337 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,791,060. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $136.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.23. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $99.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BX. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Blackstone 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.