FORA Capital LLC Buys 34,587 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

FORA Capital LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 96.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,386 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 34,587 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for about 1.4% of FORA Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Blackstone by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 11,035 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE BX traded down $0.40 on Friday, hitting $139.41. 3,113,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,765,155. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $101.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50-day moving average price is $136.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.24.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BX. UBS Group dropped their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten 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, Blackstone has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $154.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, 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 acquired 1,660,538 shares of company stock valued at $24,981,930 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.