Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) is Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC's Largest Position

Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 350,251 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for 26.8% of Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $48,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.3%

BX stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $138.45. 6,190,012 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,794,766. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.02 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $200.96. 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 50-day moving average of $135.83 and a 200-day moving average of $159.15.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.05%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.65.

About Blackstone

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.