Sunbelt Securities Inc. Buys 6,575 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 95.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,485 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 6,575 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $63,109,000. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 214.2% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 889,286 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 716,319 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $123,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,951 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.2%

BX traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.97. 717,633 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,780,808. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $101.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $136.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business'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 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. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.