Security National Bank Increases Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Security National Bank grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,959 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 291 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for 1.3% of Security National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Security National Bank’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the transaction, the director now owns 37,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% 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 Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $143.62 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $137.88 and its 200 day moving average is $153.16. The company has a market capitalization of $104.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.26, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. 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 (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 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 19.84% and a net margin of 19.83%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BX shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citizens Jmp upgraded Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.65.

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.