Vantage Investment Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,213 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 5,241 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Indie Asset Partners LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 24,736 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,265,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $137.45 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $137.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.86. The stock has a market cap of $100.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BX. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group lowered 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. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents 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.

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.

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