Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Holdings Raised by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 96.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,386 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 34,587 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for about 1.4% of FORA Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other 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 transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 1,660,538 shares of company stock valued at $24,981,930. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.6%

BX stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,287,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,771,177. The business has a 50-day moving average of $136.80 and a 200-day moving average of $162.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $109.40 billion, a PE ratio of 41.31, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Cowen reissued 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $154.82.

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.