Diligent Investors LLC Has $3.14 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Diligent Investors LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,463 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 0.8% of Diligent Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Diligent Investors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,723 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1%

Blackstone stock opened at $138.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $135.57 and a 200 day moving average of $158.27.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, the director now owns 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently 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.