Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Acquired by River Street Advisors LLC

River Street Advisors LLC increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 29.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,658 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises 1.2% of River Street Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 763.0% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 233 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.3 %

BX traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $123.80. 4,058,890 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,587,450. The company has a market cap of $88.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $133.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 117.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (down previously from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $119.48 per share, with a total value of $26,166.12. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,115,488.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.