PFG Investments LLC Buys 9,625 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 96.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,556 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 9,625 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Blackstone by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 303,069 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $40,348,000 after purchasing an additional 15,875 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,734,000. Kampmann Melissa S. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $2,314,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1,722.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 504,441 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $54,046,000 after purchasing an additional 476,768 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 536.5% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,181 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 11,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 232 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 232 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 34,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $125.00 price target (down previously from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Blackstone from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Blackstone from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.65.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $122.49. 2,962,718 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,161,162. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $125.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.57. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.92 and a 12-month high of $133.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.98. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 132.86%.

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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