Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $765,000 Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,435 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $765,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,837,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 889,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,990,238 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $515,577,000 after buying an additional 835,170 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock traded down $1.32 during trading on Monday, reaching $145.38. The company had a trading volume of 3,180,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,772,105. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $137.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.05, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $154.82.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 1,660,538 shares of company stock valued at $24,981,930. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.