Zhang Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 26.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,090 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,523 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 37,120 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 243.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 133,325 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $18,636,000 after purchasing an additional 94,464 shares in the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 53,142 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,847,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on BX. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:BX traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $140.68. 2,381,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,794,145. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $135.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.59. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $102.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Blackstone Company 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.