Utah Retirement Systems Grows Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Utah Retirement Systems raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,700 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the quarter. Utah Retirement Systems' holdings in Blackstone were worth $20,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 534.2% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 34,901 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,018,000 after purchasing an additional 29,398 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,007 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $12,243,000 after buying an additional 52,659 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 287,967 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $49,651,000 after acquiring an additional 16,558 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,016,046 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,209,707,000 after purchasing an additional 681,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $196,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BX. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen cut their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price 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. Ten research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.2 %

BX traded up $4.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $137.62. 4,968,025 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,773,954. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $138.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.34. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.38 billion, a PE ratio of 37.91, 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

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.