North Star Investment Management Corp. Has $19.55 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 170,012 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 9,973 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for 1.2% of North Star Investment Management Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $19,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.86.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $115.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $120.62 and its 200 day moving average is $129.07. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.67%.

Blackstone Profile

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.