Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Purchased by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 47,126 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 475,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:BX opened at $137.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.16 billion, a PE ratio of 41.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $137.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 112.05%.

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.