Private Advisor Group LLC Has $28.10 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 244,376 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 8,821 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $28,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BX. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.36.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,236,000. The trade was a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $122.73 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $91.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $119.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.02. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.