Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 22,089 Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 22,089 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,809,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,109,000. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% during the 4th 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. increased its position in Blackstone by 1.3% during 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 buying an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 716,319 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $123,508,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 37,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of BX opened at $137.53 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $100.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock's 50 day moving average is $137.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.99.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Blackstone from $160.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $154.82.

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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