Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 534.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,901 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 29,398 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BX. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,501,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Blackstone by 0.3% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 31,635 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,844,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,357,529 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $211,082,000 after acquiring an additional 39,394 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $615,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Blackstone by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 158,168 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $24,220,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX traded up $4.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $137.62. The company had a trading volume of 4,968,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,771,289. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.91, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Barclays upped their target price on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.82.

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.