Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $4.39 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 38,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $4,393,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Blackstone by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after buying an additional 329,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $115.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $120.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.22.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.